Phase transition revealed by eigen microstate entropy
Abstract
We introduce the eigen microstate entropy (SEM), a novel metric of complexity derived from the probabilities of statistically independent eigen microstates. After establishing its scaling behavior in equilibrium systems and demonstrating its utility in critical phenomena (mean spherical, Ising, and Potts models), we apply SEM to non-equilibrium complex systems. Our analysis reveals a consistent precursor signal: a significant increase in SEM precedes major phase transitions. Specifically, we observe this entropy rise before biomolecular condensate formation in liquid-liquid phase separation in living cells and months ahead of El Ni\~no events. These findings position SEM as a general framework for detecting and interpreting phase transitions in non-equilibrium systems.
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