Wednesday, Sept 1, 13.15 - 15.00 EB:
Lecture 1:
Statistical description of many-body systems. Equilibrium ensembles.
Distribution functions. Entropy. Ideal gas. Foundations of statistical physics.
Friday, Sept 3, 10-12 EB:
Lecture 2:
Equilibrium fluctuations. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics.
Reading:
LR: ch 6A-D; ch 7A-D.
JK: ch IIA-B
Landau v5: ch 12
Wednesday, Sept 8, 13.15 - 15.00 EB:
Lecture 3:
Stochastic processes. Markov process, Smolukhovsky equation,
master equation. Random walks. Basic probability distributions
Friday, Sept 10, 10-12 EB:
Recitation 1:
Home
problems
Reading:
LR: ch 4A-F, S4A.
Wednesday, Sept 15, 13.15 - 15.00 EB:
Lecture 4:
Central limit theorem. Gaussian and Poissonian distributions.
Master equation: examples from chemistry and biology.
Friday, Sept 17, 10-12 EB:
Recitation 2:
Home
problems
Reading:
LR: ch 5A-D, S5B, 12C
JK: ch 2C
Wednesday, Sept 22, 13.15 - 15.00 EB:
Recitation 3:
Home
problems
Friday, Sept 24, 10-12 EB:
Lecture 5:
Master equation: Scattering by impurities. particle-particle scattering.
H-theorem. Boltzmann equation.
Reading:
LR: ch 11C.
JK: ch IIC.
Wednesday, Sept 29, 13.15 - 15.00 EB:
Lecture 6:
Boltzmann equation and conservation laws. Hydrodynamics. Transport
coefficients.
Friday, Oct 1, 10-12 EB:
Recitation 4:
Home
problems
Reading:
LR: ch 11F-G.
JK: ch IIC.
Wednesday, Oct 6, 13.15 - 15.00 EB:
Lecture 7:
Diffusion. Fokker-Planck equation. Brownian motion.
Friday, Oct 8, 10-12 EB:
Recitation 5:
Home
problems
Reading:
LR: ch .
JK: ch IIC
Wednesday, Oct 13, 13.15 - 15.00 EB:
Lecture 8:
Brownian motion. Langevin equation. Stochastic oscillator.
Friday, Oct 15, 10-12 EB:
Fluctuations in electrical circuits. Nyquist noise.
Spectral properties of fluctuations. Fluctuation-dissipation theorem.
Reading:
LR: ch 5E.
JK: ch IID.
Midterm exam:
Wednesday, 20 October, 13.00 - 16.00, EB