PHY1500H F GENERAL: STATISTICAL MECHANICS

Official Description

Course Title: PHY1500H F general
Session: Fall
Year of Study: 1st year
Time and Location: Mondays 1:00 p.m., Tuesdays 12:00 p.m.
Room: MP 1115
Lecturer: Sajeev John MP1002 416-978-3459 john@physics.utoronto.ca

References R.K. Pathria and P.D. Beale, "Statistical Mechanics" 3rd Edition (Elsevier 2011)

Topics

  1. Brief review of the laws of thermodynamics; energy, entropy, temperature, and the thermodynamic potentials.
  2. The main postulate of statistical mechanics. The statistical definition of entropy and temperature.
  3. Micro-canonical distribution in the classical case. Equipartition and virial theorems and applications. Canonical distribution. Partition function, free energy, thermodynamic relations and illustrations
  4. Non-ideal classical systems: the virial expansion, the Van-der-Vaals equation of state, and the liquid-gas transition. Mean-field theory for interacting magnets.
  5. Generalized thermodynamic potentials, application to polymers
  6. Grand canonical distribution. Chemical equilibrium.
  7. The quantum microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical distributions. The density matrix: pure and mixed states. Some simple examples.
  8. The quantum ideal gases: general formulae for any statistics. Molecular gases and decoupling internal degrees of freedom.
  9. The ideal Bose gas: phonons, photons; Bose condensation of atoms.
  10. The Fermi gas: Heat capacity of metals, Thomas Fermi theory of electron-electron screening; Equilibrium in a white dwarf star.

COURSE LINKS

Information Sheet

Outline

THE FINAL EXAM IS SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY DECEMBER 9TH, 2-5 PM, in MP 505 (5th floor of physics building).

The final exam consists of five problems worth 25 points each.
For full credit, ANSWER ONLY FOUR OUT OF FIVE problems.
Indicate on the front cover of your exam booklet, which four problems you would like graded.
You may use a non-programmable calculator if necessary.
A list of possibly useful formulae is given on page two.
No other aids are allowed.

ASSIGNMENTS

LECTURES