High Temperature Classical Thermodynamics (2024)

Undergraduate: Preston Little

Faculty Advisor: Joaquin Drut
Department: Physics & Astronomy

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In this work we explore classical thermodynamic calculations via exploiting the algebraic properties of Gaussian integrals. By building on previously published algorithms, we expand the Mayer f-function to an approximation with multiple terms, then calculate the second virial expansion (VE) coefficient of the high-temperature Coulombic gas. The convergence behavior of the f-function approximation is well behaved as more terms are added, however some N=2 VE coefficient calculations involving a large number of terms appear to diverge.