PHYS 530 Statistical Mechanics

University of Alberta

Fall 2023

Igor Boettcher

Lecture

  • Tuesday, Thursday 11:00 - 12:20 (2023-09-05 - 2023-12-08)
  • Room BS M-141
  • Office hours: Tuesdays 15:00-16:00
  • Course syllabus available on eClass
     
  • The course will cover the theoretical foundations of classical and quantum statistical mechanics, which is one of the main pillars of theoretical physics. This is done by introducing the microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical ensembles and connecting them to thermodynamics, followed by an application to ideal quantum gases and classical phase transitions.
     
  • Lecture Notes
     
  • The material covered in the course is standard and can be found in a great number of excellent books. Two examples that I like to use and that are available online through the University of Alberta library are:
    • Schwabl - Statistical Mechanics
    • Landau/Lifshitz - Statistical Physics, Part 1
       
  • Assignments available on eClass