8.08 Statistical Physics II, Spring 2003
Graphical representation of the total numbers of states in the combined system with the total energy 2 ¯
E and the system 1 energy
E1. (Image adapted from Prof. Xiao-Gang Wen's
Lecture Note on microcanonical ensemble.)
Highlights of this Course
This course follows 8.044 Statistical Physics I and is second in this series of undergraduate Statistical Physics courses. The website features comprehensive
lecture notes and
assignments.
Course Description
Probability distributions for classical and quantum systems. Microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical partition-functions and associated thermodynamic potentials. Conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium for homogenous and heterogenous systems. Applications: non-interacting Bose and Fermi gases; mean field theories for real gases, binary mixtures, magnetic systems, polymer solutions; phase and reaction equilibria, critical phenomena. Fluctuations, correlation functions and susceptibilities, and Kubo formulae. Evolution of distribution functions: Boltzmann and Smoluchowski equations.