Compared to the previous edition where the quantum theoretic development of the subject was chosen from the very beginning, this revised edition presents the classical theory as the launching pad by introducing a number of key concepts so as to make the subject accessible to a wider group of readers. In addition, the technical soundness of presentation has been raised to a higher level by using the concepts of the mixed state and the reduced state as the basic building blocks of the theory as well as relating equilibrium statistical mechanics to the long-term time evolution of the reduced state. The author avoids technically rigorous, formal analysis in favor of a clear understanding at a semi-intuitive level.
Preface to the First Revised Edition
Preface to the First Edition
INTRODUCTION
Getting Launched from Classical Mechanics: A Preview of Statistical Mechanics
Quantum Mechanics: Elementary Notions
Quantum Mechanics: Illustrations
Statistical Mechanics: The First Fundamental Postulate
The Entropy Postulate
The Programme of Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics
Appendix: More on the Fundamental Postulates
THE MICROCANONICAL ENSEMBLE AND ITS APPLICATIONS
Stirling’s Approximation
System of Non-Interacting Spins
Einstein’s Theory of Crystalline Specific Heat
Systems of Identical Particles
State Counting for Bosons and Fermions
The Ideal Gas
The Classical Ideal Gas: Semiclassical State Counting
THE CANONICAL AND THE GRAND CANONICAL ENSEMBLES
Introducing the Canonical Ensemble
Probability Distribution in the Canonical Ensemble
Thermodynamic Quantities in the Canonical Ensemble
Energy Dispersion in the Canonical Ensemble
Statistical Mechanics of Large System: Recapitulation
The Grand Canonical Ensemble: Introduction
Probability Distribution in the Grand Canonical Ensemble
Thermodynamic Functions in the Grand Canonical Ensemble
Entropy as "Disorder"
Evolution Toward Maximal Disorder
Appendices
STATISTICAL MECHANICS: SIMPLE APPLICATIONS
A Single Harmonic Oscillator at Temperature T
A System of Distinct Non-Interacting Constituents at Temperatures T
Semiclassical Statistical Mechanics in the Canonical Ensemble and Applications
The Vibrating Lattice: Specific Heat at Low Temperatures
Black Body Radiation: Plank’s Formula
Paramagnetic Susceptibility
Ideal Fermi and Bose Gases in the Grand Canonical Ensemble
Quantum Virial Expansion for the Ideal Gas
The "Electron Gas" in a Conductor
Bose Condensation
Ferromagnetic Behavior and the Using Model
Gas with Weakly Interacting Molecules: Deviation from Ideality
References
Index
Biography
Avijit, Lahiri
… He [the author] has obviously thought deeply about how best to teach this subject. … Students will appreciate the full and carefully elaborated solutions presented to many of the posed problems. … The written text is lucid and informal. … I would recommend it as a supplementary text … .
—Contemporary Physics, Volume 52, Issue 3, 2011… a different and insightful explanation of the main elementary material of statistical mechanics. … I would recommend this book to those who wish to pursue a deeper understanding of statistical mechanics. This makes it best suited for postgraduate courses and beyond. … For a course at any level, there is plenty of useful material and the book’s less commonly encountered perspectives justify its consideration.
—Richard Henchman, Reviews, Volume 11, 2010
