Microscopic dynamics of a phase transition: equilibrium vs out-of-equilibrium regime

V. Latora, A. Rapisarda

Published 2000-07-17Version 1

We present for the first time to the nuclear physics community the Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) model. The model can be solved analytically in the canonical ensemble and shows a second-order phase transition in the thermodynamic limit. Numerical microcanonical simulations show interesting features in the out-of-equilibrium regime: in particular the model has a negative specific heat. The potential relevance for nuclear multifragmentation is discussed.