🔬 Category

cond-mat.stat-mech

2368 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.

⚛️ high-energy theory

Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions in a Pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian: The Imbalanced-Pairing Kitaev Model

This paper investigates the nonequilibrium dynamics of the imbalanced-pairing Kitaev model, a pseudo-Hermitian system, and demonstrates that dynamical quantum phase transitions under a linear chemical potential ramp occur exclusively when the post-ramp Hamiltonian possesses a real energy spectrum, with their critical times and velocity thresholds strongly dependent on the non-Hermiticity parameter.

R. Jafari, Alireza Akbari, Shukhrat Mardonov, H. Yavartanoo2026-07-28
🔬 condensed matter

Thermodynamics with thermodynamic variable first-passage time. I. From stochastic trajectories to nonlinear transport equations

This paper establishes a theoretical framework that treats first-passage time as a macroscopic coordinate within nonequilibrium thermodynamics, deriving a generalized Maxwell-Cattaneo equation where the classical relaxation time is replaced by the mean first-passage time to introduce internal nonlinearity and non-Markovian memory effects.

V. V. Ryazanov2026-07-28
🔬 condensed matter

Thermodynamics with thermodynamic variable first-passage time. II. Dynamics of explosive boiling of superheated liquid, critical indices, fractional calculus

This paper substantiates the emergence of fractional Caputo derivatives in hydrodynamic equations through stochastic first-passage time thermodynamics and power-law distributions, applying this framework to explosive boiling to derive nonlocal entropy production and a critical dissipation index that characterizes kinetic catastrophes and the violation of Prigogine's minimum entropy production principle near spinodals.

V. V. Ryazanov2026-07-28
🔬 mesoscale physics

Chiral thermal fluctuations and enhanced refrigeration in a nonreciprocal nanomechanical system

This paper experimentally demonstrates that synthetic magnetic flux-induced nonreciprocity in nanomechanical resonator networks imprints chirality on thermal fluctuations and enhances refrigeration efficiency, allowing a resonator's temperature to drop below the limits imposed on time-reversal symmetric systems.

Jesse J. Slim, Javier del Pino, Sander A. Mann, Ewold Verhagen2026-07-28
⚛️ high-energy theory

Distinct finite-temperature phase diagrams of non-invertible Kennedy--Tasaki duals

This paper demonstrates that non-invertible Kennedy--Tasaki duals do not necessarily share identical finite-temperature phase diagrams, revealing a specific mismatch in three dimensions where a deconfinement transition in the dual Z2\mathbb{Z}_2 gauge theory corresponds to an analytic paramagnetic phase in the original cluster model, thereby proving that such dualities can fail to preserve thermal order.

Weiguang Cao, Haruki Watanabe2026-07-28
🔬 materials science

Amortized Posteriors for Estimation of Material Constitutive Parameters from Multimodal Measurements on Small Punch Tests

This paper presents an amortized, likelihood-free framework combining Gaussian process surrogates and Conditional Flow Matching to efficiently estimate material constitutive parameters from multimodal Small Punch Test data, demonstrating that integrating Digital Image Correlation fields with force-displacement curves significantly improves posterior precision compared to using global response data alone.

Mohammad Ali Seyed Mahmoud, Aditya Venkatraman, Raj Mahat, Samantha Mitra, Surya R. Kalidindi2026-07-28
🔬 condensed matter

Control of morphology and topology in a lattice model of branching morphogenesis

This paper presents a lattice model of morphogen-controlled branching morphogenesis that integrates non-equilibrium physics and developmental biology to investigate growth patterns across diffusion-limited and stochastic surface growth regimes, while demonstrating that local topological control enables steady-state branched clusters exhibiting power-law scaling with consistent fractal exponents across different lattice geometries.

Christian Hanauer, Frank Jülicher, Efe Ilker2026-07-28