Statistical Physics I - PHYS 663 - Spring 2024
Class meetings:
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:00-12:15 in La Tourette Hall 202F, starting 2024-01-18There is no class on January 16th due to the rescheduled PhD candidacy exam.
Instructor: Professor A. Glatz
Office: La Tourette Hall 217
Office hours: Virtual by appointment (just send an email) - preferred.
Tue/Thu 12:15-13:00 in office
Grading: Weighted according to 45% homework, 10% lecture attendence, and (20% midterm + 25% final) exam. To pass this course, you MUST score at least 50% on the homework.
Homework policies: Late penalty: 10% off for each day late up to 5 days; 100% off for > 5 days. I prefer homework papers to be turned in at the beginning of class on Tuesday, but they are considered on time if turned in by 17:00 on the due date. You can turn them in to my mailbox in the Physics main office if I am not around. Homework papers should be written neatly (or typed), single-sided on paper, and stapled. Electronic submission of (scanned) homework only with good justification. You are encouraged to consult with each other on the homework. However, each of you must turn in only your own work. Do not turn in anything that you have copied, or anything that you do not truly understand.
Exam policies: Exams will be closed book, but you may bring one page of notes in your own original handwriting. Relevant formulas will be given with the problems. No electronic devices are allowed.
Midterm exam: March 19, 2024, 11:00-12:15
Final exam: May 7, 2024
Suggestions: It is very strongly suggested that you do attend class and take notes. I will not strictly follow one textbook, but will provide lecture notes here (see below). If you have problems with your homework or to understand some concepts, please do come to my office for help. The best way to prepare for exams is to study homework problems and the lecture notes.
See the also the syllabus for a list of topics to be covered in the course.
The introductory information slides can be found here.
Homework
| due before class on | ||
| Assignment 1 | 2024-01-30 | |
| Assignment 2 | 2024-02-15 | |
| Assignment 3 | 2024-02-29 | |
| Assignment 4 | 2024-03-19 | |
| Assignment 5 | 2024-04-09 | |
| Assignment 6 | 2024-04-25 | |
Literature
see syllabus for textbooks.
The recommended textbook is the book by Huang, for a simpler description see the book by Reif.
additional online resources:
- lecture notes by Prof. T. Nattermann (University of Cologne, in german): local backup
- online course material by Prof. M. Kardar (MIT): dspace.mit.edu/
- lecture notes by Prof. Wei Cai (Stanford University): micro.stanford.edu/~caiwei/me334/
- Online course on Modern Physics: Statistical Mechanics by Prof. Leonard Susskind (Stanford University): youtube - lecture 1