Abstract

Recently, we have derived a generalization of the known canonical fluctuation relation kBC = ß2 between heat capacity C and energy fluctuations, which can account for the existence of macrostates with negative heat capacities C < 0. In this work, we present a panoramic overview of direct implications and connections of this fluctuation theorem with other developments of statistical mechanics, such as the extension of canonical Monte Carlo methods, the geometric formulations of fluctuation theory and the relevance of a geometric extension of the Gibbs canonical ensemble that has been recently proposed in the literature. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.