Statistical physics is the branch of physics that describes many-body systems with methods from probability theory and statistics. In this course, we focus on interacting systems and out-of-equilibrium systems.
Prerequisites
It is strongly recommended to have followed an introductory course on Statistical Physics, such as
Statistical Physics A or Termodynamika i fizyka statystyczna R.
Organisation
The course will start on 3 October 2024.
Lecturer: Jeffrey Everts, room 5.32
Classes: Every Wednesday, 12:15 - 15:00, room 2.06
Tutorials: Every Thursday, 16:15 - 19:00, room 1.38
Midterm exam: Monday 25 November 2024, 09:00-13:00, room 1.02
Final exam: Monday 27 January 2025, 09:00-13:00, room 1.02
Retake exam: Monday 17 February 2025, 09:00-13:00, room 1.38
Always check updated schedule here.
Grading: Mid-term exam (30%), hand-in exercises (30%), final exam (40%).
Material
Lecture notes (LN) (work in progress)
An introduction to Modern Statistical Mechanics by David Chandler (DC)
Theory of simple liquids by Jean-Pierre Hansen and Ian McDonald (HI)
Lectures
Lecture 1 (03-10-2024): Introduction, ensemble theory. See also DC: Chapters 3+4.
Lecture 2 (09-10-2024): Classical limit, classical ideal gas, model potentials, gas vs liquid vs solid. See LN Sec. 2.1-2.2 and DC: 7.1. Slides can be found here.
Lecture 3 (16-10-2024): Virial expansions, start with density-density correlation functions. See LN Sec. 2.3-2.4 and DC: 7.2. Slides can be found here.
Lecture 4 (23-10-2024): Routes to thermodynamics, structure factor. See LN Sec. 2.5 and DC: 7.3-7.5.
Lecture 5 (30-10-2024): Ornstein-Zernike equation, hard spheres in the Percus-Yevick approximation, condensation. See LN 2.6, 4.1 and DC 2.2-2.3. Slides can be found here.
Lecture 6 (06-11-2024):
Lecture 7 (13-11-2024):
Lecture 8 (20-11-2024):
Lecture 9 (27-11-2024):
Lecture 10 (04-12-2024):
Lecture 11 (11-12-2024):
Lecture 12 (18-12-2024):
Lecture 13 (08-01-2025):
Lecture 14 (15-01-2025):
Lecture 15 (22-01-2025):
Tutorials
Problem set 1 (03-10-2024)
Problem set 2 (10-10-2024) Hand-in sheet 1 (due 17-10-2024, 16:15)
Problem set 3 (17-10-2024)
Problem set 4 (24-10-2024)
Problem set 5 (31-10-2024) Hand-in sheet 2 (due 07-11-2024, 16:15)
Problem set 6 (07-11-2024)
Problem set 7 (14-11-2024)
Problem set 8 (21-11-2024)
Problem set 9 (28-11-2024)
Problem set 10 (05-12-2024)
Problem set 11 (12-12-2024)
Problem set 12 (19-12-2024)
Problem set 13 (09-01-2025)
Problem set 14 (16-01-2025)
Problem set 15 (23-01-2025)