A Modern Course in Statistical Physics

Softcover

ISBN 10: 029275051X ISBN 13: 9780292750517

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 1980

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From the Back Cover:

A Modern Course in Statistical Physics is a textbook that provides a grounding in the foundations of equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical physics, and focuses on the universal nature of thermodynamic processes. It illustrates fundamental concepts with examples from contemporary research problems. One focus of the book is fluctuations that occur due to the discrete nature of matter, a topic of growing importance for nanometer scale physics and biophysics. Another focus concerns classical and quantum phase transitions, in both monatomic and mixed particle systems. The book treats such diverse topics as osmosis, steam engines, superfluids, Bose-Einstein condensates, quantum conductance, light scattering, transport processes, and dissipative structures, all in the framework of the foundations of statistical physics and thermodynamics. All classical physics is derived as limiting cases of quantum statistical physics.

This revised and updated third edition gives comprehensive coverage of numerous core topics and special applications, allowing professors flexibility in designing individualized courses. The inclusion of advanced topics and extensive references makes this an invaluable resource for researchers as well as students – a textbook that will be kept on the shelf long after the course is completed.

From the contents:

• Complexity and Entropy
• Thermodynamics
• The Thermodynamics of Phase Transitions
• Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics I: Canonical Ensemble
• Equilibrium Statistical Mechancis II: Grand Canonical Ensemble
• Brownian Motion and Fluctuation - Dissipation
• Hydrodynamics
• Transport Coefficients
• Nonequilibrium Phase Transitions 

About the Author:

Linda E. Reichl is Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Denver in 1969, then became a Faculty Associate at the University of Texas at Austin for two years. After that, she spent another two years at the Free University of Brussels as a Fulbright-Hays Research Scholar. She became Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Austin in 1973, Associate Professor in 1980, and Full Professor in 1988. Professor Reichl has served as Acting Director of the Center for Statistical Mechanics and Complex Systems since 1974. Her research ranges over a number of topics in statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics. They include the theory of low temperature Fermi liquids, quantum transport theory, application of linear hydrodynamics to translational and rotational Brownian motion and dielectric response, the transition to chaos in classical and quantum mechanical conservative systems, and the new field of stochastic chaos theory. Professor Reichl has published more than 100 research papers, has written three books, and has edited several volumes.