Riemannian geometry of thermodynamics and systems with repulsive power-law interactions.

A Riemannian geometric theory of thermodynamics based on the postulate that the curvature scalar R is proportional to the inverse free energy density is used to investigate three-dimensional fluid systems of identical classical point particles interacting with each other via a power-law potential energy gamma r(-alpha) . Such systems are useful in modeling melting transitions. The limit alpha-->infinity corresponds to the hard sphere gas. A thermodynamic limit exists only for short-range (alpha>3) and repulsive (gamma>0) interactions. The geometric theory solutions for given alpha>3 , gamma>0 , and any constant temperature T have the following properties: (1) the thermodynamics follows from a single function b (rho T(-3/alpha) ) , where rho is the density; (2) all solutions are equivalent up to a single scaling constant for rho T(-3/alpha) , related to gamma via the virial theorem; (3) at low density, solutions correspond to the ideal gas; (4) at high density there are solutions with pressure and energy depending on density as expected from solid state physics, though not with a Dulong-Petit heat capacity limit; (5) for 3<alpha<3.7913 , the solution goes from the low to the expected high density limit smoothly; (6) for alpha>3.7913 a phase transition is required to go between these regimes; (7) for any alpha>3 we may include a first-order phase transition, which is expected from computer simulations; and (8) if alpha-->infinity, the density approaches a finite value as the pressure increases to infinity, with the pressure diverging logarithmically in the density difference.