Tsallis entropy

In physics, the Tsallis entropy is a generalization of the standard Boltzmann–Gibbs entropy. In physics, the Tsallis entropy is a generalization of the standard Boltzmann–Gibbs entropy. The concept was introduced in 1988 by Constantino Tsallis as a basis for generalizing the standard statistical mechanics, and is identical in form to Havrda–Charvát structural α-entropy, introduced in 1967 within information theory. In the scientific literature, the physical relevance of the Tsallis entropy has been debated. However, from the years 2000 on, an increasingly wide spectrum of natural, artificial and social complex systems have been identified which confirm the predictions and consequences that are derived from this nonadditive entropy, such as nonextensive statistical mechanics, which generalizes the Boltzmann–Gibbs theory.