Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics: Principles and Concepts

The equilibrium ensembles of quantum and classical statistical mechanics are introduced at length, indicating their relation to equilibrium states of thermodynamic systems, and the applications of these ensembles in the case of the ideal gas are worked out, pointing out the relevance of the ideal gas in respect of a number of real-life systems. The application to interacting systems is then taken up by way of explaining the virial expansion of a dilute gas. The book then deals with a number of foundational questions relating to the existence of the thermodynamic limit and to the equivalence of the various equilibrium ensembles. The relevance of the thermodynamic limit in explaining phase transitions is indicated with reference to the Yang-Lee theory and the Kirkwood-Salsburg equations for correlation functions.

The statistical mechanics of interacting systems is then taken up again, with reference to the 1D and 2D Ising model and to the spin glass model of disordered systems. Applications of the Mean field theory are worked out, explaining the Landau-Ginzburg theory, which is then followed by the renormalization group approach to phase transitions. Interacting systems in the quantum context are referred to, addressing separately the cases of interacting bosons and fermions. The case of the weakly interacting bosons is explained in details, while the Landau theory for fermi liquids is also explained in outline.

The book then goes on to a modern but readable account of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, explaining the link with irreversible thermodynamcs. After an exposition of the Boltzmann equations and the linear response theory illustrated with reference to the hydrodynamic model, it explains the statistical mechanics of reduced systems, in the context of a number of reduction schemes. This is followed by an account of the relevance of dynamical chaos in laying down the foundations of classical statistical mechanics, where the SRB distributon is introduced in the context of non-equilibrium steady states, with reference to which the principle of minimum entropy production is explaned. A number of basic fluctuation relations are then worked out, pointing out their relation to irreversible thermodynamics.

Finally, the book explains the relevance of quantum chaos in addressing foundational issues in quantum statistical mechanics, beginning with Berry’s conjecture and then going on to an exposition of the eigenstate thermalization (ETH) hypothesis, indicating how the latter is relevant in explaining the processes of equilibriation and thermalization in thermodynamic systems and their sub-systems.