Physics 510, Fall 2007

L. M. Sander
Monday, Wednesday, 1-2:30
337 Dennison
Grader: Xuefei Li, xuefeili@umich.edu

Books:

Textbook

D. Chandler, Introduction to Modern Statistical Mechanics

Recommended

K. Huang, Statistical Mechanics

J. Sethna, Statistical Mechanics: Entropy, Order Parameters and Complexity

C. Kittel & H. Kroemer, Thermal Physics (Good undergraduate text)

F. Reif, Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics (Good undergraduate text)

Course Outline:

1. Thermodynamics
1. Basics, axioms, entropy
2. Phase equilibrium
2. Statistical Mechanics
1. Ergodic theorems, ensembles
2. Fluctuations
3. Quantum systems
3. Non-interacting systems
1. Classical ideal gas
2. Photons, phonons
3. Fermi & Bose gases
4. Weakly interacting systems
5. Phase transitions
1. Ising model, lattice gas
2. Mean field theory
3. Renormalization
6. Numerical methods
7. Non-equilibrium systems

Background and organization

You are expected to have a background in thermodynamics, some statistical mechanics, and elementary quantum mechanics.

There will be about 8 problem sets which will be graded and returned.

There will be a midterm and a final. One of them will be take-home.

The course website is on CTools.