On the temperature, equipartition, degrees of freedom, and finite size effects: Application to aluminum clusters

Abstract

The relationship between statistical ensembles (especially microcanonical ensemble) and dynamics, the equipartition theorem, and the notion of dynamical temperature are reexamined with an emphasis on finite size effects. A (dynamical) equipartition ansatz (postulate) is formulated and the notion of dynamical degrees of freedom is introduced. The utility of the dynamical degrees of freedom as an analysis tool is discussed and illustrated in applications to model aluminum clusters.