Classic text combines thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and kinetic theory in one unified presentation. Topics include equilibrium statistics of special systems, kinetic theory, transport coefficients, and fluctuations. Problems with solutions. 1966 edition.

Statistical physics has its origins in attempts to describe the thermal properties of matter in terms of its constituent particles, and has played a fundamental role in the development of quantum mechanics. Based on lectures taught by Professor Kardar at MIT, this textbook introduces the central concepts and tools of statistical physics. It contains a chapter on probability and related issues such as the central limit theorem and information theory, and covers interacting particles, with an extensive description of the van der Waals equation and its derivation by mean field approximation. It also contains an integrated set of problems, with solutions to selected problems at the end of the book and a complete set of solutions is available to lecturers on a password protected website at www.cambridge.org/9780521873420. A companion volume, Statistical Physics of Fields, discusses non-mean field aspects of scaling and critical phenomena, through the perspective of renormalization group.

Statistical Mechanics discusses the fundamental concepts involved in understanding the physical properties of matter in bulk on the basis of the dynamical behavior of its microscopic constituents. The book emphasizes the equilibrium states of physical systems. The text first details the statistical basis of thermodynamics, and then proceeds to discussing the elements of ensemble theory. The next two chapters cover the canonical and grand canonical ensemble. Chapter 5 deals with the formulation of quantum statistics, while Chapter 6 talks about the theory of simple gases. Chapters 7 and 8 examine the ideal Bose and Fermi systems. In the next three chapters, the book covers the statistical mechanics of interacting systems, which includes the method of cluster expansions, pseudopotentials, and quantized fields. Chapter 12 discusses the theory of phase transitions, while Chapter 13 discusses fluctuations. The book will be of great use to researchers and practitioners from wide array of disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, and engineering.

Statistical Physics I discusses the fundamentals of equilibrium statistical mechanics, focussing on basic physical aspects. No previous knowledge of thermodynamics or the molecular theory of gases is assumed. Illustrative examples based on simple materials and photon systems elucidate the central ideas and methods.

While many scientists are familiar with fractals, fewer are familiar with scale-invariance and universality which underlie the ubiquity of their shapes. These properties may emerge from the collective behaviour of simple fundamental constituents, and are studied using statistical field theories. Initial chapters connect the particulate perspective developed in the companion volume, to the coarse grained statistical fields studied here. Based on lectures taught by Professor Kardar at MIT, this textbook demonstrates how such theories are formulated and studied. Perturbation theory, exact solutions, renormalization groups, and other tools are employed to demonstrate the emergence of scale invariance and universality, and the non-equilibrium dynamics of interfaces and directed paths in random media are discussed. Ideal for advanced graduate courses in statistical physics, it contains an integrated set of problems, with solutions to selected problems at the end of the book and a complete set available to lecturers at www.cambridge.org/9780521873413.

This first volume of Statistical Physics is an introduction to the theories of equilibrium statistical mechanics, whereas the second volume (Springer Ser. Solid-State Sci., Vol. 31) is devoted to non equilibrium theories. Particular emphasis is placed on fundamental principles and basic con cepts and ideas. We start with physical examples of probability and kinetics, and then describe the general principles of statistical mechanics, with appli cations to quantum statistics, imperfect gases, electrolytes, and phase tran sitions, including critical phenomena. Finally, ergodic problems, the me chanical basis of statistical mechanics, are presented. The original text was written in Japanese as a volume of the Iwanami Series in Fundamental Physics, supervised by Professor H. Yukawa. The first edition was published in 1973 and the second in 1978. The English edition has been divided into two volumes at the request of the publisher, and the chapter on ergodic problems, which was at the end of the original book, is included here as Chapter 5. Chapters 1,2,3 and part of Chapter 4 were written by M. Toda, and Chapters 4 and 5 by N. Saito. More extensive references have been added for further reading, and some parts of the final chapters have been revised to bring the text up to date. It is a pleasure to express my gratitude to Professor P. Fulde for his detailed improvements in the manuscript, and to Dr. H. Lotsch of Springer Verlag for his continued cooperation.

A self-contained, mathematical introduction to the driving ideas in equilibrium statistical mechanics, studying important models in detail.