Cr. Bina, FREE-ENERGY MINIMIZATION BY SIMULATED ANNEALING WITH APPLICATIONS TO LITHOSPHERIC SLABS AND MANTLE PLUMES, Pure and Applied Geophysics, 151(2-4), 1998, pp. 605-618
An optimization algorithm based upon the method of simulated annealing
is of utility in calculating equilibrium phase assemblages as functio
ns of pressure, temperature, and chemical composition. Operating by an
alogy to the statistical mechanics of the chemical system, it is appli
cable both to problems of strict chemical equilibrium and to problems
involving metastability. The method reproduces known phase diagrams an
d illustrates the expected thermal deflection of phase transitions in
thermal models of subducting lithospheric slabs and buoyant mantle plu
mes. It reveals temperature-induced changes in phase transition sharpn
ess and the stability of Fe-rich gamma phase within an alpha + gamma f
ield in cold slab thermal models, and it suggests that transitions suc
h as the possible breakdown of silicate perovskite to mixed oxides can
amplify velocity anomalies.