Modern Course in Statistical Physics

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0292750803 ISBN 13: 9780292750807

Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr, 1984

All the tools necessary to understand the concepts underlying today's statistical physics

A Modern Course in Statistical Physics goes beyond traditional textbook topics and incorporates contemporary research into a basic course on statistical mechanics. From the universal nature of matter to the latest results in the spectral properties of decay processes, this book emphasizes the theoretical foundations derived from thermodynamics and probability theory that underlie all concepts in statistical physics. Each chapter focuses on a core topic and includes extensive illustrations, exercises, and experimental data as well as a section with more advanced topics and applications. This comprehensive treatment of traditional and modern topics:
* Covers equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics
* Presents the foundations of probability theory and stochastic processes
* Derives statistical mechanics from ergodic theory
* Examines the origin of thermodynamic and hydrodynamic behavior
* Emphasizes equilibrium and nonequilibrium phase transitions
* Presents theories of random walks and Brownian motion
* Discusses hydrodynamics and transport theory of chemical mixtures and discontinuous systems
* Presents transport theory on microscopic and macroscopic levels
* Includes thermodynamics of biophysical processes

Comprehensive coverage of numerous core topics and special applications gives professors flexibility to individualize course design. And the inclusion of advanced topics and extensive references makes this an invaluable resource for researchers as well as students-a textbook that will be retained on the shelf long after the course is completed.

An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed solutions to all the problems in the book is available from the Wiley editorial department.

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.