FYS-1376 Statistical Physics, 3 cr

Person responsible

Jouko Nieminen

Lessons

Implementation Period Person responsible Requirements
FYS-1376 2016-01 4 Jouko Nieminen
Accepted exam on the contents of the course.

Learning Outcomes

After completing the course, the student is able to construct the connection between fundamental laws of physics governing the microstate of a system and the thermodynamical quantities and laws describing the macroscopic world and practically infinite systems. In addition to conceptual understanding, the student can mathematically deal with classical and quantum mechanical problems at the macroscopic limit. Furthermore she/he can solve simple problems in statistical physics and interpret the results.

Content

Content Core content Complementary knowledge Specialist knowledge
1. Entropy and statistical weight of macrostates.  Derivation of Boltzmann and Gibbs statistics.   
2. Partition funktion, expectation values and thermodynamical potentials  Calculation of macroscopic average values for exemplar systems, such as rotating molecules or ideal gas.   
3. Boltzmann distribution, Gibbs distribution, Fermi-Dirac distribution and Bose-Einstein distribution.  Application of distribution functions to fermi gas, black body radiation and Bose condensate.   
4. Interacting systems of phase transitions.  Ising model, mean field theory and Monte Carlo method.   

Instructions for students on how to achieve the learning outcomes

The mark is determined from a final exam and solved weekly exercises.

Assessment scale:

Numerical evaluation scale (0-5)

Study material

Type Name Author ISBN URL Additional information Examination material
Book   An introduction to thermal physics   D.V. Schroeder         Yes   

Prerequisites

Course Mandatory/Advisable Description
FYS-1340 Termofysiikka Advisable   1

1 . Muutoin hankitut kurssilla tarvittavat termodynamiikan pohjatiedot.



Correspondence of content

Course Corresponds course  Description 
FYS-1376 Statistical Physics, 3 cr FYS-1370 Statistical Physics, 3 cr  

Updated by: Niemi Eeva, 17.02.2016