Click here for announcements
Welcome to this course in Statistical Mechanics. Statistical Mechanics is a probabilistic approach to determine the macroscopic properties of systems with large numbers of microscopic degrees of freedom. This graduate level (M.Sc.) course is offered during the third semester at the Department of Physics, The University of Burdwan. It builds on the background established in elementary thermodynamics courses and leads on to more advanced topics that are appropriate for a masters course in physics.
All the documents for this course, including these notes and exercises, are on the course website:
Link to website: https://bit.ly/msph301
Please check the website regularly for announcements and the class schedule. My contact details can also be found on the website.
This course builds on the background established in elementary thermodynamics courses and leads on to more advanced topics that are appropriate for a masters course in physics. Therefore, I expect students to be familiar with the following topics as necessary prerequisites for this course:
Basic and Intermediate Classical Mechanics up to and including analytical mechanics, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics, canonical transformations, and rigid body dynamics.
Basic Quantum Mechanics up to and including the postulates, the particle in a box, the harmonic oscillator and the quantum mechanics of angular momenta, especially spin-1/2 particles and two-level systems.
Mathematical methods up to and including vector calculus, sequences and series, combinatorics, complex variables and the calculus of residues, and linear algebra.
Classical Thermodynamics, up to and including the 1+3 laws of thermodynamics, the concepts of entropy, free energies, and Maxwell's Thermodynamic Relations.
The syllabus is divided into six modules. To see the topics covered in each module, please access the appropriate link on the sidebar to the left of this page.
The University has implemented rules for course evaluation. These are detailed below:
80% of your course grade will come from the final exam. Entry to the exam hall is contingent upon satisfactory class attendance.
The remaining 20% of the grade will be awarded based on an internally assessed midsem.