Statistical Mechanics

Statistical mechanics is one of the pillars of modern physics: it provides the conceptual and mathematical bridge between the microscopic description of physical systems, governed by the laws of classical and quantum mechanics, and the macroscopic observable properties that are the subject of thermodynamics. We begin with the fundamental tools of the statistical description: phase space, Liouville's theorem, probability distributions and the ergodic hypothesis, up to the operational definitions of Boltzmann and Gibbs entropy. On these foundations the microcanonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles are introduced, together with the partition functions and their role in describing macroscopic systems. The path then proceeds toward the fundamental physical systems: classical and quantum ideal gases, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics, Bose condensation, Fermi gases and electron gases in solids. Finally, collective phenomena and interactions are addressed: real gases, the Ising model, phase transitions, Landau theory and the renormalization group, in a framework that unifies microscopic description and emergent behavior. The volume includes numerous worked examples illustrating the concrete application of the methods presented, exercises proposed at the end of each chapter, and a closing chapter entirely devoted to the complete solution of all the proposed exercises.

Pages: 468, Paperback, Independently published