Configurational density of states of power-law potentials and the virial theorem in steady states

Abstract

In this brief note, the configurational density of states of a system of particles interacting via power-law pair potentials is computed exactly. The result is consistent with a constant microcanonical heat capacity. The well-known form of the virial theorem for this class of systems is recovered using only the obtained configurational density of states, and shown to be valid beyond the canonical and microcanonical ensembles, in general steady states.