Information geometry and phase transitions

The introduction of a metric onto the space of parameters in models in statistical mechanics and beyond gives an alternative perspective on their phase structure. In such a geometrisation, the scalar curvature, R, plays a central role. A non-interacting model has a flat geometry (R=0), while R diverges at the critical point of an interacting one. Here, the information geometry is studied for a number of solvable statistical-mechanical models. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.