Characterizing Proton-Proton Collisions at the Large Hadron Collider with Thermal Properties

High-multiplicity proton-proton (pp) collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies have created a new domain of research to look for a possible formation of quark–gluon plasma in these events. In this paper, we estimate various thermal properties of the matter formed in pp collisions at the LHC energies, such as mean free path, isobaric expansivity, thermal pressure, and heat capacity using a thermodynamically consistent Tsallis distribution function. Particle species-dependent mean free path and isobaric expansivity are studied as functions of final state charged particle multiplicity for pp collisions at the center-of-mass energy s = 7 TeV. The effects of degree of non-extensivity, baryochemical potential, and temperature on these thermal properties are studied. The findings are compared with the theoretical expectations.

The Use of Departure Functions to Estimate Deviation of a Real Gas From the Ideal Gas Model

In many practical applications of thermodynamics, the use of simplified relationships of the ideal-gas model over a more accurate but more complex real gas model, is a critical decision to make. Thermodynamic departure functions provide screening criteria to evaluate whether the ideal-gas model can accurately represent a gas behavior. This paper reports several departure functions to evaluate deviation of a real gas from the ideal-gas model. Included in this paper is the derivation of departure functions based on isothermal compressibility, isobaric expansivity, isochoric change of pressure with temperature, isochoric change of internal energy with pressure, sonic speed, and heat capacities difference. The description of each of these departure functions is accompanied by a numerical example. Departure functions defined in this paper have led to improved representation of deviation from the ideal-gas model across a range of ±2% deviation of the specific volume departure (also known as the compressibility factor, Z) for a typical gas mixture encountered in natural gas processing. The limitations involved in using the compressibility factor, Z, to evaluate departure from the ideal-gas model is highlighted. It is shown that even as the compressibility factor, Z, approaches unity at certain thermodynamic conditions, other departure functions exhibit considerable deviations from the ideal-gas model. It is concluded that the compressibility factor, Z, should not be used as “the only criterion” to evaluate conformance to the ideal-gas model. This paper also explains the physical significance of Schultz compressibility functions X, Y, and L [3] by introducing departure functions based on isothermal compressibility and isobaric expansivity.

Pressure and temperature dependence of the excess thermodynamic properties of binary dimethyl carbonate + n-octane mixtures

In this work we report several excess thermodynamic properties for the dimethyl carbonate + n-octane system in an effort to better understand their behavior over wide temperature and pressure ranges. From previous experimental pVTx data for this system, the changes in the excess molar Gibbs energies, in the excess molar entropies, and in the excess molar enthalpies due to pressure have been determined over a wide temperature range and for pressures up to 25 MPa. A correlation of the excess volume as a function of pressure was used for each composition and temperature, together with a new, recently proposed equation for the excess molar volume as a function of temperature, pressure, and composition. Excess molar enthalpies and excess molar Gibbs energies at 298.15 K and for pressures up to 25 MPa were calculated using literature data at atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, the excess isothermal compressibility, the excess isobaric expansivity, and the excess internal pressure were calculated. The expression for the internal pressure of an ideal mixture suggested recently by Marczak has been used.Key words: excess thermodynamic properties, dimethyl carbonate, n-octane, high pressure.