The zeroth law in quasi-homogeneous thermodynamics and black holes

Alessandro Bravetti, Christine Gruber, Cesar S. Lopez-Monsalvo, Francisco Nettel
2017 Physics Letters B  
Motivated by black holes thermodynamics, we consider the zeroth law of thermodynamics for systems whose entropy is a quasi-homogeneous function of the extensive variables. We show that the generalized Gibbs-Duhem identity and the Maxwell construction for phase coexistence based on the standard zeroth law are incompatible in this case. We argue that the generalized Gibbs-Duhem identity suggests a revision of the zeroth law which in turns permits to reconsider Maxwell's construction in analogy
more » ... h the standard case. The physical feasibility of our proposal is considered in the particular case of black holes.
doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2017.09.089 fatcat:epou3rjrenbfxjnfqiozrzwac4