On a variational approach to the Soret coefficient.
In this paper, a variational approach to the Soret coefficient initiated by Kempers [J. Chem. Phys. 90, 6541 (1989)] is critically revisited. We show that the physical coherence of the whole procedure leads to a very peculiar choice of the type of constraint one can select to mimic the nonequilibrium stationary state. However, we demonstrate that its precise definition would require a statistical evaluation of the heat of transfer, or a variational approach based on more microscopic ingredients.
Farago
Jean
J
Laboratoire de Chimie Physique, UMR 8000, 91405 Orsay, France. farago@ics.u-strasbg.fr
Rousseau
Bernard
B
Artola
Pierre-Arnaud
PA