Perspectives on Statistical Thermodynamics

This original text develops a deep, conceptual understanding of thermal physics, highlighting the important links between thermodynamics and statistical physics, and examining how thermal physics fits within physics as a whole, from an empirical perspective. The first part of the book is devoted to elementary, mesoscopic topics such as Brownian motion, which leads to intuitive uses of large deviation theory, one of the pillars of modern probability theory. The book then introduces the key concepts behind statistical thermodynamics, and the final part describes more advanced and applied topics from thermal physics such as phase transitions and critical phenomena. This important subject is presented from a fresh perspective and in a highly pedagogical manner, with numerous worked examples and relevant cultural side notes throughout, making it ideal as either a textbook for advanced thermal physics courses or for self-study by undergraduate and graduate students in physics and engineering.

Preface; Self-study guide; List of Symbols; Part I. Introduction: 1. Introduction; 2. Atomic picture of gases; 3. Introduction to probability; 4. Law of large numbers; 5. Maxwell's distribution; 6. Delta function and density distribution functions; 7. Mean free path and diffusion; 8. Introduction to transport phenomena; 9. Brownian motion; 10. Langevin equation and large deviation; Part II. Statistical Thermodynamics: Basics: 11. Macrosystems in equilibrium; 12. Thermodynamic description; 13. Basic thermodynamics; 14. Thermodynamics: general consequences; 15. Entropy through examples; 16. Free energy and convex analysis; 17. Introduction to statistical mechanics; 18. Statistical mechanics of isothermal systems; 19. Canonical density operator; 20. Classical canonical ensemble; 21. Information and entropy; 22. Information and thermodynamics; 23. Oscillators at low temperatures; 24. How to manipulate partial derivatives; 25. Thermodynamic stability; 26. Fluctuation and response; 27. Chemical potential; 28. Grand canonical ensemble; 29. Ideal quantum systems at low temperatures; 30. Photons and internal motions; Part III. Elements of Phase Transition: 31. Phases and phase transitions; 32. Phase transition in d-space; 33. Critical phenomena and renormalization; 34. Mean field and transfer matrix; 35. Symmetry breaking; 36. First order phase transition; Appendix. Introduction to mechanics; References; Index.

Yoshitsugu Oono is a Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he currently teaches the statistical physics courses. His research interests focus on nonequilibrium statistical thermodynamics and theory of biological systems.