  The effect of topology on the thermodynamics of a gas of adjoint
representation charges interacting via 1+1 dimensional SU(N) gauge fields is
investigated. We demonstrate explicitly the existence of multiple vacua
parameterized by the discrete superselection variable k=1,...,N. In the low
pressure limit, the k dependence of the adjoint gas equation of state is
calculated and shown to be non-trivial. Conversely, in the limit of high system
pressure, screening by the adjoint charges results in an equation of state
independent of k. Additionally, the relation of this model to adjoint QCD at
finite temperature in two dimensions and the limit of large N are discussed.
