cond-mat.stat-mech papers

Statistical mechanics explores how the chaotic motion of countless tiny particles gives rise to the predictable laws governing heat, pressure, and phase transitions. This field bridges the gap between the microscopic world of atoms and the macroscopic reality we experience daily, offering deep insights into why materials behave the way they do.

On Gist.Science, we process every new preprint in this category as it appears on arXiv to make these complex findings accessible to everyone. For each paper, we provide both a plain-language explanation for the curious reader and a detailed technical summary for specialists, ensuring that groundbreaking research is never lost behind a wall of jargon.

Below are the latest papers in statistical mechanics, freshly curated and summarized to help you understand the cutting edge of this fascinating discipline.

🔬 condensed matter

Scale-free cluster-cluster aggregation during polymer collapse

Using molecular dynamics simulations, this study demonstrates that the collapse of extended polymers exhibits scale-free cluster-cluster aggregation with universal dynamic scaling, where the growth exponent remains constant ( $z \approx 1.67$ ) across varying bending stiffness, while deviations from standard diffusion-controlled relations in stiffer polymers arise from stiffness-dependent variations in cluster structure and effective diffusion.

Suman Majumder, Saikat Chakraborty2026-03-12

🔬 condensed matter

Hybrid quantum-classical systems: statistics, entropy, microcanonical ensemble and its connection to the canonical ensemble

This paper establishes a rigorous mathematical framework for hybrid classical-quantum systems by deriving their microcanonical ensemble via a maximum entropy principle, demonstrating its well-defined nature for continuous energy values and its consistency with the canonical ensemble, while validating the theory through a toy model.

J. L. Alonso, C. Bouthelier-Madre, A. Castro, J. Clemente-Gallardo, J. A. Jover-Galtier2026-03-12

🔬 condensed matter

Non-Gaussian statistics of concentration fluctuations in free liquid diffusion

This paper demonstrates that concentration fluctuations in free liquid diffusion exhibit non-vanishing skewness and non-Gaussian statistics due to nonlinear coupling with thermal velocity fluctuations, thereby challenging the central limit theorem predictions of macroscopic fluctuation theory.

Marco Bussoletti, Mirko Gallo, Amir Jafari, Gregory L. Eyink2026-03-12

🔬 condensed matter

Diffusion velocity modulus of self-propelled spherical and circular particles in the generalized Langevin approach

This paper presents a generalized Langevin framework to model the averaged velocity modulus of self-propelled spherical and disk-shaped Brownian particles in a harmonic potential, revealing that while an internal Ornstein-Uhlenbeck mechanism induces spontaneous velocity fluctuations, these effects diminish over time as the system evolves.

Pedro J. Colmenares2026-03-12

🔬 condensed matter

Exact solution of a two-dimensional (2D) Ising model with the next nearest interactions

This paper derives the exact solution for a two-dimensional Ising model with next-nearest-neighbor interactions at zero magnetic field by adapting 3D Ising methods to analyze transfer matrices in multiple representations, ultimately obtaining the partition function and spontaneous magnetization to demonstrate how increased interactions and topological contributions elevate the critical point.

Zhidong Zhang2026-03-12

🔬 condensed matter

Nonequilibrium phase transitions in a racism-spreading model with interaction-driven dynamics

This paper employs a three-state compartmental model and agent-based simulations across various network topologies to analyze the nonequilibrium phase transitions between racism-free absorbing states and an active phase of persistent racist content, demonstrating how statistical physics tools can reveal the macroscopic impacts of microscopic social interactions in online environments.

Nuno Crokidakis, Lucas Sigaud2026-03-12

🔬 condensed matter

Classical Kitaev model in a magnetic field

This paper analyzes the classical Kitaev honeycomb model in a magnetic field, revealing a finite-field spin liquid regime characterized by short-range correlations, specific thermodynamic constraints, and a unique "perfect" compensation of weak site-dilution effects on magnetization.

Paul A. McClarty, Roderich Moessner, Karlo Penc, Jeffrey G. Rau2026-03-12

🔬 mesoscale physics

Geometry of Contact Terms in Linear Response: Applications to Elasticity

This paper resolves the apparent contradiction between Kubo linear response predictions of odd elastic moduli in Hamiltonian systems and energy conservation by demonstrating that the geometry of strain perturbations introduces contact term corrections that reconcile quantum linear response with classical elasticity theory.

Ian Osborne, Gustavo Monteiro, Barry Bradlyn2026-03-12

🔬 condensed matter

Bridge Scaling in Conditioned Henyey-Greenstein Random Walks

This paper uses Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate that fixed-length bridge paths in three-dimensional Henyey-Greenstein random walks exhibit four significant deviations from classical Brownian-excursion theory—such as super-diffusive amplitude scaling and a Rayleigh midpoint distribution—due to the walk's evolution on a two-dimensional Markovian state space, raising the question of whether these anomalies represent a permanent universality-class shift or a slow crossover.

Claude Zeller (Claude Zeller Consulting LLC)2026-03-12

🌀 nonlinear sciences

The propensity for disobedience: Rule-breaking, compliance and social phase transitions

This paper presents a mathematical model using replicator dynamics to demonstrate how social feedback mechanisms—specifically positive versus negative feedback—govern whether a society undergoes a discontinuous or continuous phase transition between widespread compliance and rule-breaking, thereby explaining the fragility of social order under weak institutions.

Nuno Crokidakis2026-03-12

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