Course Overview

This course is essential for those who intend to work in many body systems, in order to describe observable macroscopic quantities from the microscopic description of the system.

Learning Achievement

To introduce the basis of statistical mechanics, with a view to their application in different areas, such as magnetism, biology, nuclear physics, etc.

Competence

Course prerequisites

Grading Philosophy

Arithmetical mean of two tests.

Course schedule

1. Review of ensemble theory (a) microcanonical ensemble (b) canonical ensemble (c) gran canonical ensemble and (d) pressure ensemble 2. Ideal Gas (a) classica gas: Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics (b) quantum gases: quantum statistics: Base-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac 3. Phase transitions and critical phenomena (a) simple fluids: van der Waals equation (b) simple ferromagnet: Curie-Weiss equation (c) Landau theory 4. Ising Model (a) exact solution in one dimension (b) mean-field approach 5. theory of scale and group renormalization (a) scale theory of thermodynamic potentials (b) scale of critical correlations (c) Kadanoff construction (d) Renormalization of the Ising model (e) general scheme of renormalization group

Course type

Online Course Requirement

Instructor

Alexandre Souto Martinez

Other information

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