Hill's small systems nanothermodynamics: a simple macromolecular partition problem with a statistical perspective

[Formula: see text] statistical ensemble: systems with fluctuating energy, particle number, and volume

Within the theory of statistical ensemble, the so-called [Formula: see text] ensemble describes equilibrium systems that exchange energy, particles, and volume with the surrounding. General, model-independent features of volume and particle number statistics are derived. Non-analytic points of the partition function are discussed in connection with divergent fluctuations and ensemble equivalence. Quantum and classical ideal gases, and a model of Bose gas with mean-field interactions are discussed as examples of the above considerations.

Statistical Mechanics at Strong Coupling: A Bridge between Landsberg's Energy Levels and Hill's Nanothermodynamics

We review and show the connection between three different theories proposed for the thermodynamic treatment of systems not obeying the additivity ansatz of classical thermodynamics. In the 1950s, Landsberg proposed that when a system comes into contact with a heat bath, its energy levels are redistributed. Based on this idea, he produced an extended thermostatistical framework that accounts for unknown interactions with the environment. A decade later, Hill devised his celebrated nanothermodynamics, where he introduced the concept of subdivision potential, a new thermodynamic variable that accounts for the vanishing additivity of increasingly smaller systems. More recently, a thermostatistical framework at strong coupling has been formulated to account for the presence of the environment through a Hamiltonian of mean force. We show that this modified Hamiltonian yields a temperature-dependent energy landscape as earlier suggested by Landsberg, and it provides a thermostatistical foundation for the subdivision potential, which is the cornerstone of Hill's nanothermodynamics.

Thermodynamics Far from the Thermodynamic Limit

Understanding how small systems exchange energy with a heat bath is important to describe how their unique properties can be affected by the environment. In this contribution, we apply Landsberg's theory of temperature-dependent energy levels to describe the progressive thermalization of small systems as their spectrum is perturbed by a heat bath. We propose a mechanism whereby the small system undergoes a discrete series of excitations and isentropic spectrum adjustments leading to a final state of thermal equilibrium. This produces standard thermodynamic results without invoking system size. The thermal relaxation of a single harmonic oscillator is analyzed as a model example of a system with a quantized spectrum than can be embedded in a thermal environment. A description of how the thermal environment affects the spectrum of a small system can be the first step in using environmental factors, such as temperature, as parameters in the design and operation of nanosystem properties.