Theory of melting lines with a variable enthalpy of fusion
Abstract
Conventional derivations of phase boundaries from the Clausius-Clapeyron (CC) relation often employ the constant latent heat approximation to maintain analytical functions for sublimation and boiling curves. To address the complex thermodynamics of the solid-liquid transition, we develop a two-phase analytical model by modifying the CC equation to account for a variable enthalpy of fusion along the melting line. Our framework incorporates recent theoretical and experimental progress showing that the ratio of the isobaric heat capacity to the thermal volume expansion coefficient in the solid state is a material constant correlating with the fusion enthalpy and the specific volumes of coexisting phases during melting. Differentiation of this modified CC relation in the low-pressure regime yields a second-order differential equation dictating the melting curve. By imposing appropriate boundary conditions, physically acceptable approximate parabolic solutions are derived. The parameters of these analytic functions are defined exclusively by fundamental thermophysical properties, including the bulk moduli, thermal expansion coefficients, specific volumes of the coexisting phases, and the isobaric heat capacity of the solid state. Rooted in solid-state anharmonicity, our derivation yields approximate parabolic scaling laws that corroborate a recent universal model derived from the Phonon Theory of Liquids [K. Trachenko, Phys. Rev. E 109, 034122 (2024)], supporting the universal parabolic nature of melting curves from a completely distinct theoretical foundation.
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BibTeX
@misc{papathanassiou2026theory,
title = {{Theory of melting lines with a variable enthalpy of fusion}},
author = {Anthony N. Papathanassiou},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.17631},
eprint = {2605.17631},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.17631},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Theory of melting lines with a variable enthalpy of fusion
AU - Anthony N. Papathanassiou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.17631
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.17631
AB - Conventional derivations of phase boundaries from the Clausius-Clapeyron (CC) relation often employ the constant latent heat approximation to maintain analytical functions for sublimation and boiling curves. To address the complex thermodynamics of the solid-liquid transition, we develop a two-phase analytical model by modifying the CC equation to account for a variable enthalpy of fusion along the melting line. Our framework incorporates recent theoretical and experimental progress showing that the ratio of the isobaric heat capacity to the thermal volume expansion coefficient in the solid state is a material constant correlating with the fusion enthalpy and the specific volumes of coexisting phases during melting. Differentiation of this modified CC relation in the low-pressure regime yields a second-order differential equation dictating the melting curve. By imposing appropriate boundary conditions, physically acceptable approximate parabolic solutions are derived. The parameters of these analytic functions are defined exclusively by fundamental thermophysical properties, including the bulk moduli, thermal expansion coefficients, specific volumes of the coexisting phases, and the isobaric heat capacity of the solid state. Rooted in solid-state anharmonicity, our derivation yields approximate parabolic scaling laws that corroborate a recent universal model derived from the Phonon Theory of Liquids [K. Trachenko, Phys. Rev. E 109, 034122 (2024)], supporting the universal parabolic nature of melting curves from a completely distinct theoretical foundation.
ER -