Synopsis
This book concentrates on modern topics in statistical physics with an emphasis on strongly-interacting condensed matter systems. The book is self-contained and is suitable for beginning graduate students in physics and materials science or undergraduates who have had an introductory course in statstical mechanics. Phase transitions and critical phenomena are discussed in detail, including mean field and Landau theories and the renormalization group approach. The theories are applied to a number of interesting systems such as magnets, liquids, liquid crystals, polymers, membranes and interacting Bose and Fermi fluids. Disordered systems, percolation and spin of equilibrium concepts are also discussed. Computer simulations of condensed matter systems by Monte Carlo-based and molecular dynamics methods are treated. Each chapter contains a considerable number of exercises. A solution manual is provided.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
..."an intriguing, fresh approach to modern statistical mechanics ... choice of problems is superb."
Synopsis
Covering both the traditional topics and the newer renormalization group methods of the last 15 years, this book aims to provide a bridge from non-interacting systems to the sophisticated tools needed by today's researchers. The authors introduce students to the concepts of scaling, universality, fixed points, and renormalization transformations which were developed in the context of critical phenomena. Furthermore, they provide an extensive discussion of mean field theory, take a modern approach to quantum fluids and linear response theory and present coverage of disordered materials.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
