Welcome to Phys 219, 2012!

I have gotten some inquiries about the textbook (or what to read). Very nice! The textbook is Statistical Physics of Particles by Mehran Kardar. You can also read your favorite stat/thermal physics book (e.g. by Landau, Feynman, or Fermi), if you have time and energy. However, following well lectures and reading well one or two books is often much better than reading broadly, as far as following a course is concerned.

Welcome to Statistical Physics!

In this course, you will learn statistical and thermal physics in-depth. The topics to be included are fundamental topics of the classical and the quantum equilibrium statistical mechanics, the linear response theory and the renormalization group. You will also practice numerical methods. When properly followed, this course should enable you to gain solid understanding on how the random microscopic motions lead to sure macroscopic phenomena. You should firmly learn how to perform basic and advanced statistical calculations.