FYS-4606 Statistical Physics 2, 5 cr
Additional information
Suitable for postgraduate studies.
Person responsible
Lasse Laurson
Lessons
| Implementation | Period | Person responsible | Requirements |
| FYS-4606 2019-01 | 3 - 4 |
Lasse Laurson |
The grade of the course is determined by a combination of pre-reading assignments, activity in exercise classes and project work. |
Learning Outcomes
After completing the course, the student is able to rigorously construct the connection between fundamental laws of physics governing the microstates of a system and the thermodynamical quantities and laws describing the macroscopic world. In addition to conceptual understanding, the student can mathematically deal with a number of topics ranging from classical ensemble theory to modern topics such as topological defects, phase transitions and critical phenomena. Furthermore, she/he can solve simple and intermediate level problems of modern statistical physics and interpret the results.
Content
| Content | Core content | Complementary knowledge | Specialist knowledge |
| 1. | Random walks and diffusion | Universality and scale invariance | |
| 2. | Temperature, equilibrium and entropy | Information entropy | |
| 3. | Free energies, ensembles | Classical and quantum statistics | |
| 4. | Order parameters, broken symmetry, topology | Topological defects, domain walls | |
| 5. | Abrupt and continuous phase transitions | Nucleation, critical phenomena, scaling | Renormalization group |
Study material
| Type | Name | Author | ISBN | URL | Additional information | Examination material |
| Book | Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity | James P. Sethna | 978-0198566779 | No |
Prerequisites
| Course | Mandatory/Advisable | Description |
| FYS-1371 Statistinen fysiikka | Advisable |
Additional information about prerequisites
Alternative prerequisites: FYS-1376 Statistical Physics 3 cr, or FYS-1377 Statistical Physics 5 cr, or similar knowledge of statistical physics.
Correspondence of content
There is no equivalence with any other courses