This third edition of one of the most important and best selling textbooks in statistical physics, is a graduate level text suitable for students in physics, chemistry, and materials science.
The discussion of strongly interacting condensed matter systems has been expanded. A chapter on stochastic processes has also been added with emphasis on applications of the Fokker–Planck equation.
The modern theory of phase transitions occupies a central place. The chapter devoted to the renormalization group approach is largely rewritten and includes a detailed discussion of the basic concepts and examples of both exact and approximate calculations. The development of the basic tools includes a chapter on computer simulations in which both Monte Carlo method and molecular dynamics are introduced, and a section on Brownian dynamics added.
The theories are applied to a number of important systems such as liquids, liquid crystals, polymers, membranes, Bose condensation, superfluidity and superconductivity. There is also an extensive treatment of interacting Fermi and Bose systems, percolation theory and disordered systems in general.
Sample Chapter(s)
Table of Contents (547 KB)
Chapter 1: Review of Thermodynamics (923 KB)
Chapter 2: Statistical Ensembles (1,073 KB)
Chapter 3: Mean Field and Landau Theory (1,277 KB)
Contents:
- Review of Thermodynamics
- Statistical Ensembles
- Mean Field and Landau Theory
- Applications of Mean Field Theory
- Dense Gases and Liquids
- Critical Phenomena I
- Critical Phenomena II: The Renormalization Group
- Stochastic Processes
- Simulations
- Polymers and Membranes
- Quantum Fluids
- Linear Response Theory
- Disordered Systems
Readership: Physicists and materials scientists.
“The subject matter coverage is broad enough to attract the reader.”
Reviews of the First Edition: “… an intriguing, fresh approach to modern statistical mechanics … choice of problems is superb.”
“Nevertheless, I believe that the book provides a very good ‘physical’ introduction to the subject and may also be helpful for mathematicians working in this area.”
Zentrablatt MATH
Reviews of the First Edition: “… an intriguing, fresh approach to modern statistical mechanics … choice of problems is superb.”
Physics Today
“Nevertheless, I believe that the book provides a very good ‘physical’ introduction to the subject and may also be helpful for mathematicians working in this area.”
Mathematical Reviews
