TOPOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE SPECIFIC HEAT

Abstract

We describe how the specific heat of a quantum system is related to a positive definite metric defined on the generalized phase space in which the dynamics and thermodynamics of the system take place. This relationship is given through the components of a second-rank covariant metric tensor, enhancing a topological nature of the specific heat. We also present two examples where it can be seen how the uncertainty principle imposes strong constraints on the values achieved by the specific heat showing its inherent quantum nature.