Microcanonical Thermodynamics: Phase Transitions In &quote;Small&quote; Systems

Boltzmann''s formula S = In[W(E)] defines the microcanonical ensemble. The usual textbooks on statistical mechanics start with the microensemble but rather quickly switch to the canonical ensemble introduced by Gibbs. This has the main advantage of easier analytical calculations, but there is a price to pay — for example, phase transitions can only be defined in the thermodynamic limit of infinite...