Overview

Statistical physics has its origins in attempts to describe the thermal properties of matter in terms of its constituent particles, and has played a fundamental role in the development of quantum mechanics. Based on lectures taught by Professor Kardar at MIT, this textbook introduces the central concepts and tools of statistical physics. It contains a chapter on probability and related issues such as the central limit theorem and information theory, and covers interacting particles, with an extensive description of the van der Waals equation and its derivation by mean field approximation. It also contains an integrated set of problems, with solutions to selected problems at the end of the book and a complete set of solutions is available to lecturers on a password protected website at www.cambridge.org/9780521873420. A companion volume, Statistical Physics of Fields, discusses non-mean field aspects of scaling and critical phenomena, through the perspective of renormalization group.

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9780511815898

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Reviews

'In this much-needed modern text, Kardar presents a remarkably clear view of statistical mechanics as a whole, revealing the relationships between different parts of this diverse subject. In two volumes, the classical beginnings of thermodynamics are connected smoothly to a thoroughly modern view of fluctuation effects, stochastic dynamics, and renormalization and scaling theory. Students will appreciate the precision and clarity in which difficult concepts are presented in generality and by example. I particularly like the wealth of interesting and instructive problems inspired by diverse phenomena throughout physics (and beyond!), which illustrate the power and broad applicability of statistical mechanics.' Leon Balents, University of California, Santa Barbara 'Statistical Physics of Particles is the welcome result of an innovative and popular graduate course Kardar has been teaching at MIT for almost twenty years. It is a masterful account of the essentials of a subject which played a vital role in the development of twentieth century physics, not only surviving, but enriching the development of quantum mechanics. Its importance to science in the future can only increase with the rise of subjects such as quantitative biology. Statistical Physics of Fields builds on the foundation laid by the Statistical Physics of Particles, with an account of the revolutionary developments of the past 35 years, many of which were facilitated by renormalization group ideas. Much of the subject matter is inspired by problems in condensed matter physics, with a number of pioneering contributions originally due to Kardar himself. This lucid exposition should be of particular interest to theorists with backgrounds in field theory and statistical mechanics.' David R. Nelson, Harvard University 'If Landau and Lifshitz were to prepare a new edition of their classic Statistical Physics text they might produce a book not unlike this gem by Mehran Kardar. Indeed, Kardar is an extremely rare scientist, being both brilliant in formalism and an astoundingly careful and thorough teacher. He demonstrates both aspects of his range of talents in this pair of books, which belong on the bookshelf of every serious student of theoretical statistical physics. Kardar does a particularly thorough job of explaining the subtleties of theoretical topics too new to have been included even in Landau and Lifshitz most recent Third Edition (1980), such as directed paths in random media and the dynamics of growing surfaces, which are not in any text to my knowledge. He also provides careful discussion of topics that do appear in most modern texts on theoretical statistical physics, such as scaling and renormalization group.' H. Eugene Stanley, Boston University 'This is one of the most valuable textbook I have seen in a long time. Written by a leader in the field, it provides a crystal clear, elegant and comprehensive coverage of the field of statistical physics. I'm sure this book will become 'the' reference for the next generation of researchers, students and practitioners in statistical physics. I wish I had this book when I was a student but I will have the privilege to rely on it for my teaching.' Alessandro Vespignani, Indiana University

Author Information

Mehran Kardar is Professor of Physics at MIT, where he has taught and researched in the field of Statistical Physics for the past twenty years. He received his BA in Cambridge, and gained his PhD at MIT. Professor Kardar has held research and visiting positions as a junior fellow at Harvard, a Guggenheim fellow at Oxford, UCSB, and at Berkeley as a Miller Fellow.

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