Syllabus P551
Statistical Mechanics
Fall 2018

Text: “Statistical Mechanics”, R.K. Pathria and Paul D. Beale. Third Edition, Elsevier.

Most of the homework problems will be from the class textbook. The lectures are posted in the class website.

Secondary books:

i) ``Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics'', F. Reif, Waveland Press.

ii) “Statistical Physics of Particles”, M. Kardar, Bambridge University Press.

The lectures will follow the structure of the class textbook Pathria, but some materials from Reif's and Kardar's books may also be used.

Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday 2:10 PM to 3:25 PM.

Room: 306 Nielsen Building.

Instructor: Prof. Adriana Moreo - Rm 303 South College Building.

Office Hours: Monday 2:15PM to 3:15PM. I also will be available by request.

Phone: 974-2084 (UTK) or 241-1698 (ORNL). E-mail: amoreo@utk.edu

Web Page: http://sces.phys.utk.edu/~moreo/sm18/index.html

HOMEWORK: Due on Tuesday at the beginning of the class following assignment on preceding Tuesday. Late homework will not be accepted. The assignments will be listed in the webpage. The homework will be graded and returned to you. Each problem will be graded on a scale from 0 to 10. The homework grade will be normalized at the end of the semester to 30 points and it will result from the average of all homework sets excluding the one with the lowest grade. Solutions to all homework problems in pdf format will be sent to the students by e-mail. Those solutions are for your personal use and you should not share them with other students nor post them on-line.

MIDTERM EXAMS: There will be two midterm exams administered during class and with a take home part.  Class notes handwritten by the student can be used in the exams.


GRADING:

WEEK

#per

Subjects (Tentative)

Chapter in Pathria

1st

1

The Statistical Basis of Thermodynamics

1

2nd

2

Elements of Ensemble Theory

2

3rd

2

The Canonical Ensemble

3

4th

2

The Canonical and Grand Canonical Ensembles

3-4

5th

2

Formulation of Quantum Statistics

5

6th

2

The theory of Simple Gases

First Midterm Exam – Thursday, September 27.

6

7th

1

Ideal Bose Systems

Fall Break

7

8th

2

Ideal Fermi Systems

8

9th

2

Ideal Fermi Systems

8

10th

2

Statistical Mechanics of Interacting Systems

10

11th

2

Virial coefficients

10

12th

1

Phase Transitions: Criticality, Universality, and Scaling

Second Midterm Exam – Thursday, November 8

12

13th

2

van der Waals gas

12

14th

1

Ising Model

Thanksgiving

12

15th

2

The role of correlations and fluctuations

12

16th

1

Review.





Final Exam: Wednesday December 12 from 2:45 PM to 4:45 PM.

Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of
a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs.
Please contact the Office of Disability Services at 865-974-6087 in Hoskins
Library to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented
disabilities.