Statistical mechanics, Fall 2013
Physics 715, Natalia Perkins
Lectures: CHAMBERLIN 2104, 09:55 AM - 10:45 AM, MWF
Textbooks:
L.D. Landau and E.M. Lifshitz, Statistical Physics, Part 1.
P.K. Pathria and Paul D. Beale, Statistical Mechanics, Elsevier, Third Edition
Mehran Kardar, Statistical Physics of particles
Kerson Huang, Statistical Mechanics, Second Edition
But, there is a very large number of excellent textbooks in Statistical mechanics. It is a good
idea to find the text(s) that suit you best. It is also useful to look at topics from several different
angles.
Course Information:
Lecture notes, homework assignments and homework solutions will be regularly posted on my
web page: http://www.physics.wisc.edu/∼perkins/sp715.html. But try to take notes too. Unlike
textbooks, the lecture notes may contain typos and mistakes. Corrections are welcome!
The homework will be given approximately every 2 weeks.
Grading:
Grades will be a weighted average: 0.40 Homework, 0.45 Mid-term exams (three exams in class),
0.15 Final project on Monte Carlo simulations.
Tentative dates for midterm exams: Wednesday October 2, Monday November 4, Wednesday
December 4. The total grade will be calculated according to the following scheme: 85 percent
and higher will be A, 80-85 will be AB, 70-80 will be B, 60-70 will be BC, 50-60 will be C.
Office Hours and Contact Information:
11:00 am - 12:30 am, Fri, 5324 Chamberlin, or by appointment.
Contact Information:
263-4168, perkins@physics.wisc.edu
Your grader is William Cottrell. You can contact him via email wcottrell@wisc.edu.
Building upon the foundations of thermodynamics and statistics, this course will introduce
and develop the broad field of classical and quantum statistical physics including the following
tentative topics:
•
Introduction. Fundamental Principles of Statistical Physics.
•
Thermodynamic variables. The laws of Thermodynamics.
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•
Gibbs and Maxwell distributions. The theory of simple gases.
•
Quantum gases. Fermi and Bose gases. Magnetism of electronic gas. Imperfect Fermi gas.
Superfluidity. Liquid He.
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Nonideal gases. Van-der-Vaals formula. Liquid-gas transition.
•
Magnetism. Mean-field theory.
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2D Ising model: Monte Carlo method and Metropolis algorithm.
•
Phase transitions and Critical Phenomena. Landau theory. Scaling approach. Critical
exponents.
Although these topics underpin a variety of subject areas, our focus is on the development of
basic conceptual principles and technical fluency.
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