Statistical Physics

(4 Credits)

Explaining the emergence of macroscopic properties in systems characterized by many degrees of freedom. Thermodynamics: heat and work, entropy, free energy and thermodynamic ensembles. Liouville's theorem. Kinetic theory of gasses, including the BBGKY hierarchy and the Boltzmann transport equation. The microscopic nature of thermodynamic equilibrium: equilibrium ensembles as microscopic constraints. Grand ensembles. Quantum statistical physics, including degenerate quantum gasses. Mean-field theory with applications to magnetism and superconductivity.