Course Identification

Statistical physics 1
20191041

Lecturers and Teaching Assistants

Prof. David Mukamel
Dr. Dan Deviri, Luiz Carlos Barbosa Da Silva

Course Schedule and Location

2019
First Semester
Monday, 09:15 - 11:00, Weissman, Auditorium
Wednesday, 09:15 - 11:00, Weissman, Auditorium

Tutorials
Thursday, 08:45 - 10:30, Weissman, Auditorium
05/11/2018

Field of Study, Course Type and Credit Points

Physical Sciences: Lecture; Obligatory; 6.00 points
Chemical Sciences: Lecture; Elective; Core; 6.00 points
Chemical Sciences (Materials Science Track): Lecture; Elective; Core; 6.00 points
Life Sciences (Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Track): Lecture; Elective; 6.00 points
Life Sciences (Brain Sciences: Systems, Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience Track): Lecture; Elective; Core; 6.00 points

Comments

*Obligatory for 1st year MSc students

On the following dates the lectures and tutorials will be held at Weissman room A:

21/1/2019
23/1/2019

Prerequisites

No

Restrictions

40

Language of Instruction

English

Attendance and participation

Obligatory

Grade Type

Numerical (out of 100)

Grade Breakdown (in %)

50%
50%

Evaluation Type

Examination

Scheduled date 1

07/02/2019
Weissman, Seminar Rm A,Weissman, Seminar Rm B
0900-1300
N/A

Scheduled date 2

20/06/2019
Weissman, Seminar Rm A
-
N/A

Estimated Weekly Independent Workload (in hours)

8

Syllabus

The course will deal with the following topics:

Equilibrium statistical physics: Phase transitions and critical phenomena; mean-field theories;

Ising type models; renormalization group approach; Kosterlitz-Thouless type transitions; correlation functions.

Dynamics and nonequilibrium statistical physics: linear response; Langevin approach; fluctuation-dissipation relation; Fokker-Planck equation; models of driven systems.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. Recall the basic notions of thermodynamics and statistical physics from a new deductive perspective.
  2. Discuss interacting systems and phase transitions.
  3. Appreciate how competition of order and disorder determines the properties of systems at different space dimensionalities, how the renormalization group framework explains universality of critical phenomena and why the random walk is central to our understanding of fluctuating fields.
  4. Become acquainted with stochastic dynamics of statistical mechanical systems  through the Master, Langevin and Fokker-Planck equations. Noise properties and the fluctuation dissipation relation will also be discussed.

Reading List

Lecture notes part 1


Basic books:

  1. L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, Statistical Physics Part 1.
  2. R. K. Pathria, Statistical Mechanics.
  3. R. Kubo, Statistical Mechanics.
  4. K. Huang, Statistical Mechanics.
  5. H. Callen  Thermodynamics


Course reading:

  1. S K Ma Modern Theory of Critical Phenomena   The Bejamin Cummings Publishing Co
  2. D J Amit Field Theory Renormalization Group and Critical Phenomena   World Scientific
  3. L. Peliti  Statistical Physics in a Nutshell
  4. M. Kardar Statistical Physics of Fields
  5. M. Kardar Statistical Physics of Particles

Website

N/A