Topics In Statistical Mechanics (Second Edition)

Topics In Statistical Mechanics (Second Edition)
Author: Brian Cowan
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 451
Release: 2021-07-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1786349809

Building on the material learned by students in their first few years of study, Topics in Statistical Mechanics (Second Edition) presents an advanced level course on statistical and thermal physics. It begins with a review of the formal structure of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics considered from a unified viewpoint. There is a brief revision of non-interacting systems, including quantum gases and a discussion of negative temperatures. Following this, emphasis is on interacting systems. First, weakly interacting systems are considered, where the interest is in seeing how small interactions cause small deviations from the non-interacting case. Second, systems are examined where interactions lead to drastic changes, namely phase transitions. A number of specific examples is given, and these are unified within the Landau theory of phase transitions. The final chapter of the book looks at non-equilibrium systems, in particular the way they evolve towards equilibrium. This is framed within the context of linear response theory. Here fluctuations play a vital role, as is formalised in the fluctuation-dissipation theorem.The second edition has been revised particularly to help students use this book for self-study. In addition, the section on non-ideal gases has been expanded, with a treatment of the hard-sphere gas, and an accessible discussion of interacting quantum gases. In many cases there are details of Mathematica calculations, including Mathematica Notebooks, and expression of some results in terms of Special Functions.

Topics in Statistical Mechanics

Topics in Statistical Mechanics
Author: Brian Cowan
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2005-09-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1911298364

Building on the material learned by students in their first few years of study, this book presents an advanced level course on statistical and thermal physics. It begins with a review of the formal structure of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics considered from a unified viewpoint. After a brief revision of non-interacting systems, emphasis is laid on interacting systems. First, weakly interacting systems are considered, where the interest is in seeing how such interactions cause small deviations from the non-interacting case. Second, systems are examined where interactions lead to drastic changes, namely phase transitions. A number of specific examples are given, and these are unified within the Landau theory of phase transitions. The final chapter of the book looks at non-equilibrium systems and the way these evolve towards equilibrium. Here, fluctuations play a vital role, as is formalized in the Fluctuation–Dissipation theorem. Contents:The Methodology of Statistical MechanicsPractical Calculations with Ideal SystemsNon-Ideal GasesPhase TransitionsFluctuations and Dynamics Readership: Upper undergraduate and postgraduate students of statistical mechanics.

Statistical Physics for Biological Matter

Statistical Physics for Biological Matter
Author: Wokyung Sung
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2018-10-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 940241584X

This book aims to cover a broad range of topics in statistical physics, including statistical mechanics (equilibrium and non-equilibrium), soft matter and fluid physics, for applications to biological phenomena at both cellular and macromolecular levels. It is intended to be a graduate level textbook, but can also be addressed to the interested senior level undergraduate. The book is written also for those involved in research on biological systems or soft matter based on physics, particularly on statistical physics. Typical statistical physics courses cover ideal gases (classical and quantum) and interacting units of simple structures. In contrast, even simple biological fluids are solutions of macromolecules, the structures of which are very complex. The goal of this book to fill this wide gap by providing appropriate content as well as by explaining the theoretical method that typifies good modeling, namely, the method of coarse-grained descriptions that extract the most salient features emerging at mesoscopic scales. The major topics covered in this book include thermodynamics, equilibrium statistical mechanics, soft matter physics of polymers and membranes, non-equilibrium statistical physics covering stochastic processes, transport phenomena and hydrodynamics. Generic methods and theories are described with detailed derivations, followed by applications and examples in biology. The book aims to help the readers build, systematically and coherently through basic principles, their own understanding of nonspecific concepts and theoretical methods, which they may be able to apply to a broader class of biological problems.

Statistical Mechanics of Lattice Systems

Statistical Mechanics of Lattice Systems
Author: Sacha Friedli
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 643
Release: 2017-11-23
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1107184827

A self-contained, mathematical introduction to the driving ideas in equilibrium statistical mechanics, studying important models in detail.

Statistical Mechanics

Statistical Mechanics
Author: R.K. Pathria
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 542
Release: 2017-02-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1483186881

Statistical Mechanics discusses the fundamental concepts involved in understanding the physical properties of matter in bulk on the basis of the dynamical behavior of its microscopic constituents. The book emphasizes the equilibrium states of physical systems. The text first details the statistical basis of thermodynamics, and then proceeds to discussing the elements of ensemble theory. The next two chapters cover the canonical and grand canonical ensemble. Chapter 5 deals with the formulation of quantum statistics, while Chapter 6 talks about the theory of simple gases. Chapters 7 and 8 examine the ideal Bose and Fermi systems. In the next three chapters, the book covers the statistical mechanics of interacting systems, which includes the method of cluster expansions, pseudopotentials, and quantized fields. Chapter 12 discusses the theory of phase transitions, while Chapter 13 discusses fluctuations. The book will be of great use to researchers and practitioners from wide array of disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, and engineering.

Physics and Chance

Physics and Chance
Author: Lawrence Sklar
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 458
Release: 1993
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521558815

Lawrence Sklar offers a comprehensive, non-technical introduction to statistical mechanics and attempts to understand its foundational elements.

Statistical Physics

Statistical Physics
Author: Gregory H. Wannier
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 561
Release: 1987-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 048665401X

Classic text combines thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and kinetic theory in one unified presentation. Topics include equilibrium statistics of special systems, kinetic theory, transport coefficients, and fluctuations. Problems with solutions. 1966 edition.

The Principles of Statistical Mechanics

The Principles of Statistical Mechanics
Author: Richard Chace Tolman
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 700
Release: 1979-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780486638966

This is the definitive treatise on the fundamentals of statistical mechanics. A concise exposition of classical statistical mechanics is followed by a thorough elucidation of quantum statistical mechanics: postulates, theorems, statistical ensembles, changes in quantum mechanical systems with time, and more. The final two chapters discuss applications of statistical mechanics to thermodynamic behavior. 1930 edition.

Statistical Mechanics

Statistical Mechanics
Author: James Sethna
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2006-04-07
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0191566217

In each generation, scientists must redefine their fields: abstracting, simplifying and distilling the previous standard topics to make room for new advances and methods. Sethna's book takes this step for statistical mechanics - a field rooted in physics and chemistry whose ideas and methods are now central to information theory, complexity, and modern biology. Aimed at advanced undergraduates and early graduate students in all of these fields, Sethna limits his main presentation to the topics that future mathematicians and biologists, as well as physicists and chemists, will find fascinating and central to their work. The amazing breadth of the field is reflected in the author's large supply of carefully crafted exercises, each an introduction to a whole field of study: everything from chaos through information theory to life at the end of the universe.