Elementary Lectures in Statistical Mechanics (Graduate Texts in Contemporary Physics)

Rok: 1999
ISBN: 9780387989181
OKCZID: 110227516

Hodnocení: 4.5 / 5 (6 hlasů)

Anotace

This textbook for graduate students and advanced undergraduates in physics and physical chemistry covers the major areas of statistical mechanics, concluding with a demonstration of applications of statistical mechanics at the level of current research. The presentation begins with the fundamental ideas of averages and ensembles, focusing on classical systems and using the ideal gas as an example. It then turns to quantum systems, beginning with diatomic molecules and working up through blackbody radiation and chemical equilibria. The discussion of equilibrium properties of systems of interacting particles treats cluster expansions and distribution functions, using non-ideal gases, liquids, and solutions as examples. Dynamic behavior --- treated much more extensively than in other introductory texts --- is discussed in terms of correlation functions. The text includes discussions of the Langevin equation, the Mori--Zwanzig and linear response approaches, and of such fundamental issues as thermal fluctuations, quantum averages, and Gibbs's proof of the stability of the canonical ensemble. The text concludes with a problem of current research: diffusion in a suspension of interacting hard spheres. Intended for a one-semester course, the text includes several "asides" on topics usually omitted from introductory courses, such as the Kirkwood--Wigner theorem and Gibbs's demonstration that the canonical partition function determines the Helmholtz free energy. Numerous problems close the chapters.

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