Overview

The theory of statistical mechanics is the best link we have between the imperceptible world of atoms and molecules and our common macroscopic experience. This textbook provides the fundamental rules and relationships of statistical mechanics. Through it, students will learn how to deduce the properties of materials from an underlying understanding of the behaviour of its constituent building blocks. The textbook covers the basics of systems at rest, as well as those directly manipulated. The former, also known as equilibrium statistical mechanics, is reviewed in the context of recent results in probability theory, with emphasis on solvation phenomena and phase transitions. The latter, nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, has seen tremendous advancement in the last few years, and is integrated into a textbook for the first time. These latter chapters emphasize rates of rare events like chemical reactions as well as single molecule experiments. Throughout the book, distinctions between heat and work, as well as notions of trajectory ensembles reflect the incorporation of stochastic thermodynamics into the modern language of statistical mechanics. Ideas of scaling, the concentration of measures, and generalized theories of ensemble equivalence represent the important contribution of the mathematics of large deviations.

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9780198919858

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A book at the top tier in quality assessment. * Abraham Nitzan, University of Pennsylvania *

A book at the top tier in quality assessment. * Abraham Nitzan, University of Pennsylvania * A superb book. It covers important modern developments (large deviation theory, fluctuation theorems, the Jarzynski equality, new approaches to statistical mechanics far from equilibrium, transition path sampling, and so on) and explains it all extremely clearly. * David Manolopoulos, University of Oxford * This excellent introduction to the fundamental concepts of modern equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics is set to become a key reference in the field. The book stands out for its clear explanations, well-chosen topics, appealing illustrations, and many instructive exercises, making it especially useful for students. * Christoph Dellago, University of Vienna *

Author Information

David T. Limmer graduated from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in 2008 with a BS in chemical engineering. He received his Ph. D in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 2013, and was a fellow of the Princeton Center for Theoretical Chemistry from 2013 to 2016. He is currently Associate Professor in the Chemistry Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He is an Alfred P. Sloan fellow and Heising-Simons Fellow of the Kavli Foundation and won the Department of Energy Early Career Award in 2019. Dr Limmer is a Research Scientist in the Chemical and Material Sciences divisions of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

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