top of page
Statistical Physics

This is a graduate level course on statistical physics.

Content

  1. Classical Thermodynamics (pdf)

    Temperature and the Zeroth Law; The First Law; The Second Law; Carnot Cycles; Entropy; Maxwell Relations; The Third Law. 

    Suggested Problems: Solve the following exercises from Mehran Kardar's Statistical Physics of Particles textbook

    Chapter 1: 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

    Solve Question 1 from this link. The question involves deriving Maxwell relations and certain thermodynamic identities
     

  2. Probability (pdf)

    One random variable; Some Important Probability Distributions; Many Random Variables; Central Limit Theorem; Rules for Large Numbers; Information, Entropy and Estimation

    Suggested Problems:     Solve the following exercises from Mehran Kardar's Statistical Physics of Particles textbook

    Chapter 2: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11
     

  3. Kinetic Theory of Gases (pdf)

    BBGKY Hierarchy, Boltzmann Equation, Equilibrium and Detailed Balance, The H-Theorem, Ideal Fluids, Relaxation Time Approximation; Thermal Conductivity and Viscosity Revisited; Navier-Stokes Equation; Sound Waves

    Suggested Problems:     Solve the following exercises from Mehran Kardar's Statistical Physics of Particles textbook

    Chapter 3: 2, 3, 6, 8, 12
     

  4. Classical Statistical Mechanics (pdf)

    Microcanonical Ensemble; Entropy and the Second Law; Temperature; Two-Level System; First Law of Thermodynamics; Canonical Ensemble; Energy Fluctuations; Chemical Potential; Gibbs Canonical Ensemble; Grand Canonical Ensemble

    Suggested Problems:     Solve the following exercises from Mehran Kardar's Statistical Physics of Particles textbook

    Chapter 4: 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12
     

  5. Interacting Particles (pdf)

    Interactions; Cumulant Expansion; Cluster Expansion; van der Waals Equation of State​
     

  6. Quantum Statistical Mechanics (pdf)

    Dilute Polyatomic Gas; Debye Model of Vibrations in a Solid; Blackbody Radiation; Quantum Microstates; Quantum Macrostates

    Suggested Problems:     Solve the following exercises from Mehran Kardar's Statistical Physics of Particles textbook

    Chapter 6: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8
     

  7. Ideal Quantum Gases (pdf)

    Hilbert Space of Identical Particles; Canonical Formulation; Grand Canonical Formulation; Non-Relativistic Gas; The Degenerate Fermi Gas; The Degenerate Bose Gas; Superfluid He4

"Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906 by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics."

​

- David Goodstein

bottom of page