Dynamical and thermodynamical stability of isothermal distributions in the HMF model

Abstract

We provide a new derivation of the conditions of dynamical and thermodynamical stability of homogeneous and inhomogeneous isothermal distributions in the Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) model. This proof completes the original thermodynamical approach of Inagaki [Prog. Theor. Phys. 90, 557 (1993)]. Our formalism, based on variational principles, is simple and the method can be applied to more general situations. For example, it can be used to settle the dynamical stability of polytropic distributions with respect to the Vlasov equation [Chavanis & Campa, arXiv:1001.2109]. For isothermal distributions, the calculations can be performed fully analytically, providing therefore a clear illustration of the method.