Book Description

Statistical Mechanics explores the physical properties of matter based on the dynamic behavior of its microscopic constituents. After a historical introduction, this book presents chapters about thermodynamics, ensemble theory, simple gases theory, Ideal Bose and Fermi systems, statistical mechanics of interacting systems, phase transitions, and computer simulations. This edition includes new topics such as BoseEinstein condensation and degenerate Fermi gas behavior in ultracold atomic gases and chemical equilibrium. It also explains the correlation functions and scattering; fluctuationdissipation theorem and the dynamical structure factor; phase equilibrium and the Clausius-Clapeyron equation; and exact solutions of one-dimensional fluid models and two-dimensional Ising model on a finite lattice. New topics can be found in the appendices, including finite-size scaling behavior of Bose-Einstein condensates, a summary of thermodynamic assemblies and associated statistical ensembles, and pseudorandom number generators. Other chapters are dedicated to two new topics, the thermodynamics of the early universe and the Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations. This book is invaluable to students and practitioners interested in statistical mechanics and physics. - Bose-Einstein condensation in atomic gases - Thermodynamics of the early universe - Computer simulations: Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics - Correlation functions and scattering - Fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the dynamical structure factor - Chemical equilibrium - Exact solution of the two-dimensional Ising model for finite systems - Degenerate atomic Fermi gases - Exact solutions of one-dimensional fluid models - Interactions in ultracold Bose and Fermi gases - Brownian motion of anisotropic particles and harmonic oscillators