Geometry And Thermodynamics

This textbook aims to briefly outline the main directions in which the geometrization of thermodynamics has been developed in the last decades. The textbook is accessible to people trained in thermal sciences but not necessarily with solid formation in mathematics. For this, in the first chapters a summary of the main mathematical concepts is made. In some sense, this makes the textbook self-consistent. The rest of the textbook consists of a collection of results previously obtained in this young branch of thermodynamics. The manner of presentation used throughout the textbook is adapted for ease of access of readers with education in natural and technical sciences.

Distinct scientific communities are usually involved in the three fields of quasi-crystals, of liquid crystals, and of systems having modulated crystalline structures. However, in recent years, there has been a growing feeling that a number of common problems were encountered in the three fields. These comprise the need to recur to "exotic" spaces for describing the type of order of the atomic or molecular configurations of these systems (Euclidian "superspaces" of dimensions greater than 3, or 4-dimensional curved spaces); the recognition that one has to deal with geometrically frustrated systems, and also the occurence of specific excitations (static or dynamic) resulting from the continuous degeneracies of the stable structures considered. In the view of discussing these problems, aNA TO-Advance Research Workshop has assembled in Preveza (Greece), in september 1989,50 experts of the three considered fields (with an equal proportion of theorists and experimentalists). 35 hours of conferences and discussions have led to a more detailed evaluation of the similarities and of the differences in the approaches implemented in the studies of the three types of systems. The papers contained in this NATO-series book provide the substance of this workshop. The reader will find three types of papers. Some very short papers giving the main ideas stated on a subject. Papers comprising 8-10 pages which stick closely to the contents of the talks presented. Longer papers providing more extensively the background and results relative to a given topic. It is worth summarizing the principal outputs of the workshop.

Maximum Dissipation: Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics and its Geometric Structure explores the thermodynamics of non-equilibrium processes in materials. The book develops a general technique created in order to construct nonlinear evolution equations describing non-equilibrium processes, while also developing a geometric context for non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Solid materials are the main focus in this volume, but the construction is shown to also apply to fluids. This volume also: • Explains the theory behind thermodynamically-consistent construction of non-linear evolution equations for non-equilibrium processes • Provides a geometric setting for non-equilibrium thermodynamics through several standard models, which are defined as maximum dissipation processes • Emphasizes applications to the time-dependent modeling of soft biological tissue Maximum Dissipation: Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics and its Geometric Structure will be valuable for researchers, engineers and graduate students in non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the mathematical modeling of material behavior.

Substances possessing heterogeneous microstructure on the nanometer and micron scales are scientifically fascinating and technologically useful. Examples of such substances include liquid crystals, microemulsions, biological matter, polymer mixtures and composites, vycor glasses, and zeolites. In this volume, an interdisciplinary group of researchers report their developments in this field. Topics include statistical mechanical free energy theories which predict the appearance of various microstructures, the topological and geometrical methods needed for a mathematical description of the subparts and dividing surfaces of heterogeneous materials, and modern computer-aided mathematical models and graphics for effective exposition of the salient features of microstructured materials.

Because it is grounded in math, chemical thermodynamics is often perceived as a difficult subject and many students are never fully comfortable with it. The first authoritative textbook presentation of equilibrium chemical and phase thermodynamics in a reformulated geometrical framework, Chemical and Phase Thermodynamics shows how this famously difficult subject can be accurately expressed with only elementary high-school geometry concepts. Featuring numerous suggestions for research-level extensions, this simplified alternative to standard calculus-based thermodynamics expositions is perfect for undergraduate and beginning graduate students as well as researchers.

Although contact geometry and topology is briefly discussed in V I Arnol'd's book “Mathematical Methods of Classical Mechanics ”(Springer-Verlag, 1989, 2nd edition), it still remains a domain of research in pure mathematics, e.g. see the recent monograph by H Geiges “An Introduction to Contact Topology” (Cambridge U Press, 2008). Some attempts to use contact geometry in physics were made in the monograph “Contact Geometry and Nonlinear Differential Equations” (Cambridge U Press, 2007). Unfortunately, even the excellent style of this monograph is not sufficient to attract the attention of the physics community to this type of problems. This book is the first serious attempt to change the existing status quo. In it we demonstrate that, in fact, all branches of theoretical physics can be rewritten in the language of contact geometry and topology: from mechanics, thermodynamics and electrodynamics to optics, gauge fields and gravity; from physics of liquid crystals to quantum mechanics and quantum computers, etc. The book is written in the style of famous Landau–Lifshitz (L–L) multivolume course in theoretical physics. This means that its readers are expected to have solid background in theoretical physics (at least at the level of the L–L course). No prior knowledge of specialized mathematics is required. All needed new mathematics is given in the context of discussed physical problems. As in the L–L course some problems/exercises are formulated along the way and, again as in the L–L course, these are always supplemented by either solutions or by hints (with exact references). Unlike the L–L course, though, some definitions, theorems, and remarks are also presented. This is done with the purpose of stimulating the interest of our readers in deeper study of subject matters discussed in the text. Contents:Motivation and BackgroundFrom Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics to String and Knot TheoryAll About and Around Woltjer's TheoremTopologically Massive Gauge Theories and Force-Free FieldsContact Geometry and PhysicsSub-Riemannian Geometry, Heisenberg Manifolds and Quantum Mechanics of Landau LevelsAbrikosov Lattices, TGB Phases in Liquid Crystals and Heisenberg GroupSub-Riemannian Geometry, Spin Dynamics and Quantum-Classical Optimal ControlFrom Contact Geometry to Contact TopologyClosing Remarks:The Unreasonable Effectivenessof Contact Geometry and Topology in Physical SciencesAppendices:Heisenberg Group in the Context of Sub-Riemannian Geometry and Optimal ControlSub-Riemannian Dynamics of Josephson JunctionsQuantum Computers and Quantum Random WalksThe Measurement Protocol. Geometry and Topology of Entanglements Readership: Students in applied mathematics and theoretical physics. Keywords:Force-Free Fields;Contact and Sub-Riemannian Geometry;Optimal Control;Theoretical PhysicsKey Features:This book is the world's first book on contact/sub-Riemannian geometry and topology for physicistsUnlike books discussing mathematical methods for physicists, this book discusses physical problems first and only then uses new mathematics to solve these problems. Problems are selected from practically all branches of theoretical physicsThis is done with the purpose of demonstrating that contact geometry should be looked upon as a universal language/technical tool of theoretical physicsReviews: “This book is written in the style of the well-known Landau-Lifshitz multivolume course in theoretical physics and its prime goal, as the author puts it, is to show the diversity of applications of contact geometry and topology. I enjoyed reading this book, in which the author allows readers to see for themselves “the same forest behind different kinds of trees”. I strongly recommend this book to interested readers.” MathSciNet

This book covers a new explanation of the origin of Hamiltonian chaos and its quantitative characterization. The author focuses on two main areas: Riemannian formulation of Hamiltonian dynamics, providing an original viewpoint about the relationship between geodesic instability and curvature properties of the mechanical manifolds; and a topological theory of thermodynamic phase transitions, relating topology changes of microscopic configuration space with the generation of singularities of thermodynamic observables. The book contains numerous illustrations throughout and it will interest both mathematicians and physicists.