W. Stolzmann et T. Blocker, Thermodynamical properties of stellar matter II. Internal energy, temperature and density exponents, and specific heats for stellar interiors, ASTRON ASTR, 361(3), 2000, pp. 1152-1168
Starting from the Helmholtz free energy we calculate analytically first- an
d second-order derivatives, as internal energy and specific heats, for the
ideal system and the exchange and correlation interactions covering a broad
range of degeneracy and relativity. The complex physics of Coulomb interac
tions is expressed by Pade Approximants, which reflect the actual state of
our knowledge with high accuracy. We assume complete ionization and provide
a base system of thermodynamical functions from which any other thermodyna
mical quantities can be calculated. We chose for the base system the free e
nergy, the pressure, the internal energy, the isothermal compressibility (o
r density exponent), the coefficient of strain (or temperature exponent), a
nd the isochoric specific heat. By means of the latter potentials entropy,
isobaric specific heat and adiabatic temperature gradient can be determined
. We give comparisons with quantities which are composed by numerical secon
d-order derivatives of the free energy and show that numerical derivatives
of the free energy as calculated, for instance, from EOS tables, may produc
e discontinuities for astrophysically relevant quantities as, e.g., the adi
abatic temperature gradient. Adiabatic temperature gradients are shown for
different chemical compositions (hydrogen, helium, carbon). Finally the use
d formalism of Pade Approximants allows immediate incorporation of recent r
esults from many particle statistics.