MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATION OF THE HESSIAN RESPONSE EQUILIBRIUM CONCEPT

In our previous studies of systems with multiple chemical equilibria w e examined sensitivity coefficients partial derivative n(k)/partial de rivative Y, where n(k) is the equilibrium amount of the kth chemical s pecies, and Y is a parameter influencing the equilibrium. The chemical transformations in the system are described by means of stoichiometri cally independent reactions (SIRs). It was shown that the sensitivity coefficients can be expressed in terms of contributions associated wit h so-called Hessian response equilibria (HEQs). We now prove some fund amental properties of HEQs, among which are the following: 1. The HEQs are independent of the choice of SIRs. 2. The number of linearly inde pendent HEQs is equal to the number of SIRs.