Statistical Mechanics

Catalog description

Statistical Mechanics is a unique branch of physics that permeates our understanding of matter at all length scales, from nanometers to stellar dimensions, and ranging in temperatures from pico-Kelvin (or lower) to billions of degrees Kelvin. This course will provide an overview of select topics in equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. The course will introduce the basic postulates of classical and quantum equilibrium statistical mechanics, explain the methodology of calculating observable properties, and discuss several applications in diverse fields. The second part of the course will introduce the methodology of non-equilibrium processes and discussing important theorems and results in the linear response regime. Finally, a brief discussion of systems far from equilibrium will be presented. Select applications from condensed matter physics, chemistry, materials science, biology, astrophysics, economics and meteorology will be used to illustrate the fundamental principles.