Subject Code:  PH5L008 Subject Name: Statistical Mechanics L-T-P: 3-1-0 Credit: 4
Pre-requisite(s): Nil
Introduction and Overview of statistical mechanics; Ergodic hypothesis; Liouville theorem; Concepts of ensembles. Microcanonical Ensemble: Concepts of entropy; Some applications. Canonical (CE) and Grand-canonical Ensemble (GCE) :  Probability distribution in CE and GCE; Thermodynamic quantities in CE and GCE; Energy dispersion in CE;  Mean particle number and mean energy and the grand potential; Fluctuations in particle number; Some applications . Quantum Statistics : Ideal quantum gases; Photons and Phonons; Bose-Einstein Condensation. Interacting Systems: Model – Ising model (1D & 2D), XY model; Phase Transition; Mean field  Theory; Scaling and Renormalization Group theory. Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics:  Fokker-Planck equation; Basics of Langevin Equation; Some applications; Master Equation, Growth and decay process.
Text/Reference Books:
  1. Pathria R. K., Statistical Mechanics, Butterworth-Heinemann
  2. Reif F., Statistical and Thermal Physics, McGraw-Hill
  3. Huang K., Statistical Mechanics, John Wiley Asia.
  4. Risken H. & Frank T., The Fokker-Planck Equation: Methods of Solutions and applications, Springer.
  5. Zwanzig R., Non-equilibrium Statistical Mechanics, Oxford University Press, USA.
  6. Dattagupta S. & Puri S., Dissipative Phenomena in Condensed Matter Physics: Some Applications, Springer.
  7. Gardiner C.W., Handbook of Stochastic Methods: for Physics, Chemistry and Natural Sciences, Springer.
  8. Landau L. D. and Lifshitz E. M., Statistical Physics, Pergamon.
  9. Greiner W., Neise L., and Stocker H., Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics, Springer.