Critical and Flash Points for Metastable Systems in a Mean-Field Approach

By using, as a model, an analytical equation of state which describes a system that can exist in a liquid or vapor phase, scaling properties regarding the critical temperature and the ‘‘flash’’ temperature were found. The ‘‘flash’’ temperature is defined as the highest temperature at which a self-bound system can exist in hydrostatic equilibrium. The ‘‘flash’’ temperature can provide an alternate natural dimension-dependent scale of temperature, other than the critical temperature.