Intermediate Statistical Mechanics

In this new textbook, a number of unusual applications are discussed in addition to the usual topics covered in a course on Statistical Physics. Examples are: statistical mechanics of powders, Peierls instability, graphene, Bose-Einstein condensates in a trap, Casimir effect and the quantum Hall effect. Superfluidity and super-conductivity (including the physics of high-temperature superconductors) have also been discussed extensively. The emphasis on the treatment of these topics is pedagogic, introducing the basic tenets of statistical mechanics, with extensive and thorough discussion of the postulates, ensembles, and the relevant statistics. Many standard examples illustrate the microcanonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles, as well as the Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics. A special feature of this text is the detailed presentation of the theory of second-order phase transitions and the renormalization group, emphasizing the role of disorder. Non-equilibrium statistical physics is introduced via the Boltzmann transport equation. Additional topics covered here include metastability, glassy systems, the Langevin equation, Brownian motion, and the Fokker-Planck equation. Graduate students will find the presentation readily accessible, since the topics have been treated with great deal of care and attention to detail. Request Inspection Copy

This book covers the foundations of classical thermodynamics, with emphasis on the use of differential forms of classical and quantum statistical mechanics, and also on the foundational aspects. In both contexts, a number of applications are considered in detail, such as the general theory of response, correlations and fluctuations, and classical and quantum spin systems. In the quantum case, a self-contained introduction to path integral methods is given. In addition, the book discusses phase transitions and critical phenomena, with applications to the Landau theory and to the Ginzburg-Landau theory of superconductivity, and also to the phenomenon of Bose condensation and of superfluidity. Finally, there is a careful discussion on the use of the renormalization group in the study of critical phenomena.

McCoy presents the advances made in statistical mechanics over the last 50 years, including mathematical theorems on order and phase transitions, numerical and series computations of phase diagrams and solutions for important solvable models such as Ising and 8 vortex.

"Das Buch eignet sich ausgezeichnet als Grundlage oder Ergänzungslektüre für eine theoretische Vorlesung ab dem 5. Semester. Es deckt praktisch alle ... üblichen Inhalte ab, geht aber teilweise auch wesentlich darüber hinaus ... Zusammenfassend kann dieses Buch sowohl als Begleittext zu einer Vorlesung wie auch als Nachschlagewerk wärmstens empfohlen werden." (Physikalische Blätter) "... Die Fülle des behandelten Stoffes ist beeindruckend ... kann Studenten der ... Chemie, ... Physik und verwandter Disziplinen nachdrücklich empfohlen werden. Aber auch als Lehr- und Nachschlagewerk ist es geeignet." (Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie)

This unique and consistent mathematical treatise contains a deductive description of equilibrium statistics and thermodynamics. The most important elements of non-equilibrium phenomena are also treated. In addition to the fundamentals, the text tries to show how large the area of statistical mechanics is and how many applications can be found here. Modern areas such as renormalization group theory, percolation, stochastic equations of motion and their applications in critical dynamics, as well as fundamental thoughts of irreversibility are discussed. The text will be useful for advanced students in physics and other sciences who have profound knowledge of quantum mechanics.

Sufficiently rigorous for introductory or intermediate graduate courses, this text offers a comprehensive treatment of the techniques and limitations of statistical mechanics. 82 figures. 15 tables. 1962 edition.

Announcements for the following year included in some vols.

From the reviews: "...This book is a very useful addition to polymer literature, and it is a pleasure to recommend it to the polymer community." (J.E. Mark, University of Cincinnati, POLYMER NEWS)

Aufbauend auf der Quantenmechanik desselben Autors werden hier fortgeschrittene Themen behandelt: I Vielteilchensysteme, II Relativistische Wellengleichungen, III Relativistische Felder. Die in gewohnter Weise stringente mathematische Darstellung wird durch die Angabe aller Zwischenschritte, durch zahlreiche Anwendungsbeispiele im Text und Übungen ergänzt. Der Text legt insbesondere durch Darstellung der relativistischen Wellengleichungen und ihrer Symmetrieeigenschaften sowie der quantenfeldtheoretischen Grundlagen das Fundament für das weitere Studium von Festkörperphysik, Kern- und Elementarteilchenphysik.

Phase space, ergodic problems, central limit theorem, dispersion and distribution of sum functions. Chapters include Geometry and Kinematics of the Phase Space; Ergodic Problem; Reduction to the Problem of the Theory of Probability; Application of the Central Limit Theorem; Ideal Monatomic Gas; The Foundation of Thermodynamics; and more.