Statistical Physics

This is an introductory one-semester course in statistical thermodynamics for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in physics and engineering. The course offers a high level of detailed derivation of all equations and results. This information helps students to grasp difficult concepts in physics in order to move on to courses of higher level. The presentation is simple enough; the course material is self-contained and mathematically well founded, it contains number of problems with detailed solutions that helps students to understand complex theoretical concepts in future.

Students who have completed the course should have an idea of:

• Random events and probability;
• Statistics about the connection with thermodynamics;
• Some facts about the quantum mechanics

Students have to know:

• Basics of probability theory;
• The distribution of Maxwell, Boltzmann, Gibbs;
• The Boltzmann equation, the diffusion approximation (approximation of Lorentz)

Students have to be able to perform calculations.

Here are the main topics of the course.

• Basics of probability theory
• Random events and probability
• Random variables and their characteristics
• Classical statistics equilibrium states
• The Maxwell distribution
• The Boltzmann distribution
• Gibbs distribution
• Communication statistics thermodynamics
• Quantum statistics equilibrium states
• Some information in quantum mechanics
• Big canonical distribution
• Bose-Einstein statistics
• Fermi-Dirac statistics
• The nonequilibrium state
• The Boltzmann equation
• The diffusion approximation (approximation of Lorentz)
• Accounting collision
• Fluctuations

back to International MSc program "Mechanics and Mathematical Modeling"