Entropy change and phase transitions in an expanding Universe

The work compiles a correlated study of a gravitational quasi equilibrium thermodynamic approach for establishing and signifying a unique behavior of the cosmological entropy and phase transitions in an expanding Universe. On the basis of prescribed boundary conditions for the cluster temperature a relation for the intra-cluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters has been derived. A more productive and signifying approach of the correlation functions used for galaxy clustering phenomena shows a unique behavior of the entropy change where a phenomenon known as the gravitational phase transition occurs. This unique behavior occurs with a symmetry breaking from mild clustering to low clustering and from mild clustering to high clustering which differs from a normal symmetry breaking in material sciences. We also derive results for the specific latent heat associated with the phase transitions of 3.20 Tc and 0.55 Tc for the mildly clustered phase to the low clustered phase and from the mildly clustered phase to the highly clustered phase, respectively. (C) 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim