An upper bound on the free energy for classical systems with Coulomb interactions in a varying external field

The thermodynamic limit is taken using a sequence of regions all the same shape as a given region of volume ||, with a specified distribution of normal field component on . We show that with magnetostatic interactions the limiting free energy density is bounded above by jhen where (,B) is the free energy density for a system of density in a uniform external fieldB and the inf is taken over all divergence-free fieldsB with given normal component on and all densities (x) compatible with particle number constraints of the form where _i is a sub-region of . A physical argument suggests that this upper bound is the true thermodynamic limit, and that it takes account demagnetization effects. Electrostatic interactions can be treated similarly.