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Statistical Mechanics
Entropy, Order Parameters and Complexity
James Sethna
376 pages
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210 line drawings
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246x189mm
978-0-19-856677-9
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Paperback
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06 April 2006
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- Broad principles widely applicable in modern physics, computer science, mathematics, complexity theory, and biology.
- Exciting exercises, introducing new fields and illustrating broad principles.
- Powerful, advanced methods presented simply - new, modern concepts distilled and incorporated into undergraduate-level presentation.
- Hundreds of illustrations and figures illustrating theory, experiment, and applications.
- Hundreds of marginal notes providing background, illustration, vocabulary, and advanced concepts.
In each generation, scientists must redefine their fields: abstracting, simplifying and distilling the previous standard topics to make room for new advances and methods. Sethna's book takes this step for statistical mechanics - a field rooted in physics and chemistry whose ideas and methods are now central to information theory, complexity, and modern biology. Aimed at advanced undergraduates and early graduate students in all of these fields, Sethna limits his main presentation to the topics that future mathematicians and biologists, as well as physicists and chemists, will find fascinating and central to their work.
The amazing breadth of the field is reflected in the author's large supply of carefully crafted exercises, each an introduction to a whole field of study: everything from chaos through information theory to life at the end of the universe.Readership: Undergraduate and graduate student classes in physics teaching statistical mechanics, particularly in departments interested in reaching out to students in related fields of mathematics, computer science, biology, and engineering.
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"The author's style, although quite concentrated, is simple to understand, and has many lovely visual examples to accompany formal ideas and concepts, which makes the exposition live and intuitvely appealing." - Olga K. Dudko, Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol 126 "Since the book treats intersections of mathematics, biology, engineering, computer science and social sciences, it will be of a great help to researchers in these fields in making statistical mechanics useful and comprehensible. At the same time, the book will enrich the subject for researchers-physicists who'd like to apply their skills in other disciplines." - Olga K. Dudko, Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol 126
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1: What is Statistical Mechanics?
2: Random walks and emergent properties
3: Temperature and equilibrium
4: Phase-space dynamics and ergodicity
5: Entropy
6: Free Energies
7: Quantum statistical mechanics
8: Calculation and computation
9: Order parameters, broken symmetry, and topology
10: Correlations, response, and dissipation
11: Abrupt phase transitions
12: Continuous phase transitions
Appendix: Fourier methods
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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