Role of the electromagnetic field in the thermodynamics of the microscopic media

Abstract

In this study, the thermodynamic properties of an arbitrary shape medium in the presence of an electromagnetic field were investigated. We used the path integral method and Matsubara formalism to calculate the system's free energy by considering the susceptibility function of the medium. Using the variation of the free energy at finite temperature and the first law of thermodynamics, thermodynamic quantities like quantum work of the electromagnetic field on the medium and heat were obtained.