Thermodynamics of Criticality: Percolation Loci, Mesophases and a Critical Dividing Line in Binary-Liquid and Liquid-Gas Equilibria

High-temperature and pressure boundaries of the liquid and gas states have not been defined thermodynamically. Standard liquid-state physics texts use either critical isotherms or isobars as ad hoc boundaries in phase diagrams. Here we report that percolation transition loci can define liquid and gas states, extending from super-critical temperatures or pressures to “ideal gas” states. Using computational methodology described previously we present results for the thermodynamic states at which clusters of excluded volume (VE) and pockets of available volume (VA), for a spherical molecule diameter σ, percolate the whole volume (V = VE + VA) of the ideal gas. The molecular-reduced temperature (T)/pressure(p) ratios ( ) for the percolation transitions are = 1.495 ± 0.015 and = 1.100 ± 0.015. Further MD computations of percolation loci, for the Widom-Rowlinson (W-R) model of a partially miscible binary liquid (A-B), show the connection between the ideal gas percolation transitions and the 1st-order phase-separation transition. A phase diagram for the penetrable cohesive sphere (PCS) model of a one-component liquid-gas is then obtained by analytic transcription of the W-R model thermodynamic properties. The PCS percolation loci extend from a critical coexistence of gas plus liquid to the low-density limit ideal gas. Extended percolation loci for argon, determined from literature equation-of-state measurements exhibit similar phenomena. When percolation loci define phase bounds, the liquid phase spans the whole density range, whereas the gas phase is confined by its percolation boundary within an area of low T and p on the density surface. This is contrary to a general perception and opens a debate on the definitions of gaseous and liquid states.

Can the integration between urban and rural areas be realized?A new theoretical analytical framework

Urban-rural integration is an advanced form resulting from the future evolution of urban-rural relationships.Nevertheless,little research has explored whether urban and rural areas can move from dual segmentation to integrated development from a theoretical or empirical perspective.Based on the research framework of welfare economics,which offers an appealing paradigm to frame the underlying game between cities and villages,this study clarifies the ideal state of urban-rural integration.It then proposes a series of basic assumptions,and constructs a corresponding objective function and its constraints.Moreover,it assesses the possibility of seeing the transmutation from division to integration between urban and rural areas with continuous socio-economic development.The authors argue that the ideal state of urban-rural integration should be a Pareto-driven optimal allocation of urban-rural resources and outputs,and the maximization of social welfare in the entire region.Based on a systematic demonstration using mathematical models,the study proposes that urban and rural areas can enter this ideal integrated development pattern when certain parameter conditions are met.In general,this study demonstrates the theoretical logic and scientific foundations of urban-rural integration,enriches theoretical studies about urban-rural relationships,and provides basic theoretical support for large developing countries to build a coordinated and orderly urban-rural community with a shared future.

On Universal Osher-Type Schemes for General Nonlinear Hyperbolic Conservation Laws

This paper is concerned with a new version of the Osher-Solomon Riemann solver and is based on a numerical integration of the path-dependent dissipation matrix.The resulting scheme is much simpler than the original one and is applicable to general hyperbolic conservation laws,while retaining the attractive features of the original solver:the method is entropy-satisfying,differentiable and complete in the sense that it attributes a different numerical viscosity to each characteristic field,in particular to the intermediate ones,since the full eigenstructure of the underlying hyperbolic system is used.To illustrate the potential of the proposed scheme we show applications to the following hyperbolic conservation laws:Euler equations of compressible gasdynamics with ideal gas and real gas equation of state,classical and relativistic MHD equations as well as the equations of nonlinear elasticity.To the knowledge of the authors,apart from the Euler equations with ideal gas,an Osher-type scheme has never been devised before for any of these complicated PDE systems.Since our new general Riemann solver can be directly used as a building block of high order finite volume and discontinuous Galerkin schemes we also show the extension to higher order of accuracy and multiple space dimensions in the new framework of PNPM schemes on unstructured meshes recently proposed in[9].