Statistical Mechanics Ii

AY2014/2015 Semester 1

This course introduces the theoretical framework of statistical mechanics and applications to novel physical systems. ? Principle of detailed balance; Principle of equal a priori probability; microcanonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles; Boltzmann and Gibbs entropy; fluctuations in energy, particle number and volume; configurational entropy and defects; classical statistical mechanics. ? Ideal systems: Ideal classical gas; non-interacting fermions and bosons; paramagnetism (classical and quantum treatment); harmonic oscillator; blackbody radiation; equipartition of energy; negative temperature; critical opalescence. ? Interacting systems 1: Virial expansion; van der Waals equation of state. ? Interacting systems 2: Mean-field approximation; nematic crystals; adsorption; Monte Carlo method; Ising model; spin-1/2 paramagnet; Landau mean-field theory ? Interacting systems 3: Critical phenomenon; critical exponents