Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics covers: Thermodynamics - basic definitions of thermodynamics, equilibrium, state variables - the first and second laws - phase transitions and chemical reactions - thermodynamic potentials Statistical Mechanics - statistics of microscopic states and connection to the entropy - the microcanonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles - applications of Boltzmann statistics Quantum Statistics - the density operator - many-particle wave functions - ideal quantum systems - the ideal Bose gas and applications to blackbody radiation, Kirchhoff's law, and lattice vibrations - the ideal Fermi gas and applications to condensed-matter physics, astrophysics, and nuclear physics - relativistic Bose and Fermi gases and applications to particle physics Real Gases and Phase Transitions - real gases and the virial expansion - classification of phase transitions and critical indices - the Ising and Heisenberg models

FROM THE REVIEWS:

AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND PHYSICIST "As one might expect, it contains a thorough and complete coverage of a wide range of topics...It contains a wealth of worked examples: for instance, the theory of relativistic gases is illustrated by its application to one of Greiner's favorite topics, the quark-gluon plasma in the Big Bang and in heavy-ion collisions. It deserves serious consideration as a textbook for third-year courses in this area."