A note on relations between convexity and concavity of thermodynamic functions

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Main Authors: Lukáčová-Medvid'ová, Mária, Thein, Ferdinand, Warnecke, Gerald, Yuan, Yuhuan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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_version_ 1866917048049729536
author Lukáčová-Medvid'ová, Mária
Thein, Ferdinand
Warnecke, Gerald
Yuan, Yuhuan
author_facet Lukáčová-Medvid'ová, Mária
Thein, Ferdinand
Warnecke, Gerald
Yuan, Yuhuan
contents The paper is concerned with proving the equivalence of convexity or concavity properties of thermodynamic functions, such as energy and entropy, depending on different sets of variables. These variables are the basic thermodynamic state variables, specific state variables or the densities of state variables that are used in continuum mechanics. We prove results for transformations of variables and functions in conjunction with convexity properties. We are concerned with convexity, strict convexity, positive definite Hessian matrices and the analogous forms of concavity. The main results are equivalence relations for these properties between functions. These equivalences are independent of the equations of state since they only use general properties of them. The results can be used for instance to easily prove that the entropy density function for the Euler equations in conservative variables in three space dimensions is strictly concave or even has a negative definite Hessian matrix. Further, we show how various equations of state imply these properties and how these properties are relevant to mathematical analysis.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_24440
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A note on relations between convexity and concavity of thermodynamic functions
Lukáčová-Medvid'ová, Mária
Thein, Ferdinand
Warnecke, Gerald
Yuan, Yuhuan
Analysis of PDEs
Mathematical Physics
26B25, 80A17, 76A02, 76N15, 35L65
The paper is concerned with proving the equivalence of convexity or concavity properties of thermodynamic functions, such as energy and entropy, depending on different sets of variables. These variables are the basic thermodynamic state variables, specific state variables or the densities of state variables that are used in continuum mechanics. We prove results for transformations of variables and functions in conjunction with convexity properties. We are concerned with convexity, strict convexity, positive definite Hessian matrices and the analogous forms of concavity. The main results are equivalence relations for these properties between functions. These equivalences are independent of the equations of state since they only use general properties of them. The results can be used for instance to easily prove that the entropy density function for the Euler equations in conservative variables in three space dimensions is strictly concave or even has a negative definite Hessian matrix. Further, we show how various equations of state imply these properties and how these properties are relevant to mathematical analysis.
title A note on relations between convexity and concavity of thermodynamic functions
topic Analysis of PDEs
Mathematical Physics
26B25, 80A17, 76A02, 76N15, 35L65
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.24440