Thermodynamic Properties and Phase Behavior of Gases, Liquids, and Superfluids
This research community focuses on calculating the physical properties of fluids—specifically their density, heat transfer, and phase changes—under extreme conditions, such as supercritical states or near absolute zero. The work serves to provide the fundamental data required for engineering applications like carbon capture, cryogenic storage, and high-precision scientific measurement.
The work is dominated by molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations used to model the behavior of carbon dioxide, helium, and noble gas mixtures. Recurring themes include the determination of thermodynamic properties such as thermal conductivity, surface tension, and speed of sound, particularly in supercritical carbon dioxide and superfluid helium. The community also investigates quantum turbulence and the phase transitions of binary mixtures, often applying machine learning to predict phase equilibrium and solubility in complex fluid systems.
The community is most heavily concentrated in helium research, accounting for 9.2% of all tracked helium studies, with 9,158 papers. It also represents a significant share of neon (6.6%) and krypton (6.6%) research. In total, the community comprises 33,861 papers, primarily published in The Journal of Chemical Physics, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, and Physical Review Letters.
Recent work continues to focus on refining thermodynamic models for supercritical carbon dioxide in energy applications, such as drug solubility and carbon capture, as well as establishing reference correlations for the viscosity and phase behavior of noble gases like neon.