Melting through Barrier-Crossing: The Role of Equilibrium Thermally Activated Particles

Abstract

Melting is often understood in purely equilibrium terms, where crystalline order disappears once the free energy of the solid equals that of the liquid. Yet at the microscopic level, the initiating events for melting can often be traced to the formation of defects or local ``jumps'' over interatomic barriers. In this work, we offer a unified interpretation of melting by focusing on the equilibrium fraction of particles whose energy exceeds a characteristic barrier \(E_a\). We show that when this fraction surpasses a small but critical threshold \cite{Feder1958,Kraftmakher1998} (on the order of \(10^{-4}\)-\(10^{-3}\)), the crystal loses its rigidity, thus reconciling Born's mechanical-instability picture with the older Lindemann notion of large atomic displacements. We derive this threshold condition from standard Boltzmann (and Bose/Fermi) statistics, ensuring consistency with standard thermodynamics. Our approach naturally extends to vortex lattices in superconductors (where vortex activation energies play the role of \(E_a\)) and to quantum-lattice systems (Hubbard-type models). Crucially, while the interpretation emphasizes barrier crossing, the criterion itself is built on equilibrium statistical mechanics, offering a transparent link between defect formation rates and the macroscopic transition.