Lecturers

Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Evers,

Dr. Martin Puschmann (martin.puschmann(AT)ur.de)

Teaching units

• We offer all teching units in a hybrit format. We recommend following the lectures and exercises in class whenever possible.
• The first lecture and planary exercise will be taught on 27.04.2022.
• The exercises start on 25/26.04.2022.

Lecture (4 SWS)

• Wednesdays: 8:30 – 10:00
  Room: H33
• Donnerstags: 8:30 – 10:00
  Room: H34
   

Plenary exercises, questions, discussions

• Wednesdays: 10.15 – 11.45
  Room: PHY 9.2.01
   

Exercise (2 SWS)

• We finally offer three exercise groups, but you can choose between four possible candidates. Please apply for several groups; we eliminate the one of least interest.

1. Mondays, 14:15 – 15:45
   Room: PHY 9.1.08
2. Tuesdays, 08:30 – 10:00
   Room: PHY 7.1.21
3. Tuesdays, 08.30 – 10.00
   Room: PHY 9.1.10
4. Tuesdays, 14.15 – 15.45
   Room: H33

• We provide one excersice sheet per week. They will be distributed via GRIPS Wednesdays and discussed the week after.
• We highly suggest solving the exercises in advance. Additionally to the discussion during the exercise units, the sheets can be updated via Grips to obtain more detailed feedback to individual solutions.
• The first sheet (sheet 0), reviewing mathematical basics, is discussed in the first week of class. It will be uploaded the week before.

For teaching material, please see the GRIPS course page (external link, opens in a new window) .

Exam

• TBA

Syllabus

Content

1. Introduction
2. Basic concepts of statistics
3. Physical input into statistical theory
4. Microcanonical ensemble
5. Canonical ensemble
6. Grand Canonical ensembles
7. Thermodynamic averages
8. Entropy and probability
9. Thermodynamic state variables
10. Thermal fluctuations
11. The first and second law of thermodynamics
12. Thermodynamic relations
13. Inhomogeneous systems
14. Interlude: Systems of identical particles
15. Quantum gases: fermions
16. Quantum gases: bosons
17. Spin systems and magnetic phase transitions
18. Virial expansion for diluted systems
19. Liquid-vapor phase transition in van-der-Waals gases
20. Phase transitions and critical phenomena
21. Non-equilibrium dynamics: Boltzmann equation

Literature

• Statistische Theorie der Wärme: Gleichgewichtsphänomene, W. Brenig, Springer (1992).
• Statistische Mechanik, F. Schwabl, Springer (2006).
• Statistische Physik: Lehrbuch zur Theoretischen Physik IV, T. Fliessbach (2018).
• Grundkurs Theoretische Physik 6: Statistische Physik, W. Nolting (2013).

Background reading

• Fundamentals of statistical and thermal physics, F. Reif, Mc-Graw Hill (1965).
• Statistical Physics,
  L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, Pergamon Press (1976).