Statistical mechanics deploys a powerful set of mathematical approaches for studying the thermodynamic properties of complex physical systems. This textbook introduces students to the statistical mechanics of systems undergoing changes of state, focusing on the basic principles for classifying distinct thermodynamic phases and the critical phenomena associated with transitions between them. Uniquely designed to promote active learning, Statistical Mechanics of Phases and Phase Transitions presents some of the most beautiful and profound concepts in physics, enabling students to obtain an essential understanding of a computationally challenging subject without getting lost in the details.
- Provides a self-contained, conceptually deep introduction to the statistical mechanics of phases and phase transitions from a modern perspective
- Carefully leads students from spontaneously broken symmetries to the universality of phase transitions and the renormalization group
- Encourages student-centric active learning suitable for both the classroom and self-study
- Features a wealth of guided worksheets with full solutions throughout the book that help students learn by doing
- Includes informative appendixes that cover key mathematical concepts and methods
- Ideal for undergraduate physics majors and beginning graduate students
- Solutions manual for all end-of-chapter problems (available only to instructors)
Steven A. Kivelson is the Prabhu Goel Family Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Jack Mingde Jiang received a PhD in applied physics from Stanford. Jeffrey Chang is a PhD student in the Department of Physics at Harvard University.
“With its unique and strong emphasis on worksheets, this is a very useful addition to the large pedagogical literature on phase transitions. Kivelson, Jiang, and Chang have provided a comprehensive account of phase transitions at a level that will be instructive for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in physics, and suitable for most standard courses on this topic.”—Nigel Goldenfeld, University of California, San Diego
“Phase transitions are weird. Usually in physics, things happen in a smooth, continuous fashion. But, at a phase transition, the slightest nudge causes a system to change dramatically and discontinuously, as water cracks and freezes, or bubbles and boils. Kivelson, Jiang, and Chang do a great job of taking the reader gently by the hand and leading them through the subtle and beautiful story of phases and how they change.”—David Tong, University of Cambridge
“With a focus on the statistical mechanics of continuous phase transitions, this textbook presents many of the key calculations in the field in thoughtful detail while introducing many useful concepts and methods of broad importance.”—James Sethna, Cornell University
“Statistical Mechanics of Phases and Phase Transitions uses comparatively easy language to communicate essential ideas and techniques, drawing on a high level of scholarship and covering many important and interesting concepts.”—Jin Yu, University of California, Irvine
“Statistical Mechanics of Phases and Phase Transitions is not a list of facts or applications but a story told in an engaging and sympathetic way. It is also remarkably extensive in the material it covers, from the basics to graduate level. This marvelous book makes a hard subject accessible.”—Ralph Kenna, Coventry University
