Physics 171.703: Fall 2006

Advanced Statistical Mechanics

Page Contents:

  1. Important Messages From the Professor
  2. Professor Contact Information
  3. Class Meeting Times
  4. Course Description
  5. Textbooks
  6. Syllabus

Messages from the Professor

Urgent updates will be posted here during the term.

Contact Information  

Professor

Mark Robbins

mr at jhu.edu

410-516-7204 

Bloomberg 317 

Office Hours: TBA

Class:
9-10:30 AM Thursday and Friday in Bloomberg 168.

Course Description:
This course is aimed at graduate students who have had an undergraduate course in thermodynamics, but will begin with a brief review of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.  Then hydrodynamic theory and other transport equations are derived from statistical mechanics.  Next classical and quantum ideal gases are studied and approximate schemes for incorporating interactions are developed.  The semester concludes with a mean-field treatment of phase transitions and scaling theory.

 

Prerequisite: 171.303-304 and 171.312 or permission of the instructor.

Textbooks:
   Required: Statistical Mechanics, 2nd edition by Kerson Huang

   Recommended: Statistical Physics Part 1  by Landau and Lifshitz.
                           Statistical Mechanics  by Pathria.

Grading:

The grading will be based entirely on homework.

 

Homework:
Solving problems is not only the best way to learn physics, it is the only way. For this reason, the problem sets are probably the most important part of the course. You may work together on the problem sets; however the final writeup should be your own. To get the greatest benefit from the problems sets you should attempt to think through every problem yourself before discussing it with others. Problem sets are due on the Friday the week after they were assigned. Late homework will be given reduced credit. No credit will be given for homework more than one week late without prior approval for a compelling reason.

Syllabus: The syllabus will be updated as the course progresses.
 

Week of

Subject Matter

Reading

Homework

Sep. 4

The laws of thermodynamics

Ch. 1

Chap 1: 1, Carnot problem, 1:3 and 1:5 

Sep. 11

Some applications of thermodynamics 

Ch. 2

Homework set 2

Sep. 18

Kinetic Theory

Ch. 3

Chap. 3: 1, 4, 5 

Sep. 25

Equilibrium of Dilute Gas

Ch. 4,5

Chap. 4: 2, 6, 9 

Oct. 2

Transport Phenomena

Ch. 5

 

Oct. 9

" "

Ch. 5

Chap. 5:1,2,5,6,7 

Oct. 16

Classical Statistical Mechanics

Ch. 6

Chap. 6:3,4  

Oct. 23

Canonical and Grand Canonical Ensemble

Ch. 7

Chap. 7:2,4,5  

Oct. 30

Quantum Statistical Mechanics 

Ch. 8,12

 

Nov. 6

Bose Condensation, Ising Model

Chap. 12, 14

Chap. 12.1,3,6 

Nov. 13

Ising Model and Mean-Field Theory

Ch 14, 17

 

Nov. 20

Thanksgiving Vacation

 

 

Nov. 27

Landau Theory and Scaling

Ch 17,16

Chap. 17.2,3 

Dec. 4

Monte Carlo Methods

Handout

 

 

 

Homewood-wide statement on Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability or believe you might have a disability that requires accommodations, please contact Dr. Richard Sanders, Homewood Undergraduate Disability Services Coordinator, in the Office of Academic Advising, Garland Suite 3A, (410) 516-8216, sanders@jhu.edu , to discuss reasonable and appropriate accommodations.

 

University-wide statement on Academic Ethics

The strength of the university depends on academic and personal integrity. In this course, you must be honest and truthful. Ethical violations include cheating on exams, plagiarism, reuse of assignments, improper use of the Internet and electronic devices, unauthorized collaboration, alteration of graded assignments, forgery and falsification, lying, facilitating academic dishonesty, and unfair competition.  As noted above, collaboration on homework sets is encouraged.  However, you should attempt problems independently before collaborating and must write up your homework independently.

 

Report any violations you witness to the instructor. You may consult the associate dean of students and/or the chairman of the Ethics Board beforehand. See the guide on "Academic Ethics for Undergraduates" and the Ethics Board web site (http://ethics.jhu.edu )  or http://www.advising.jhu.edu/ethics.html for more information.