Explaining complex systems means coming to terms
with the constraints of imperfect knowledge.
Typically, we can only track a few of the many
degrees of freedom in the system, and our
measurements of those quantities have limited
resolution in time and space. Statistical
mechanics turns that defect into a strength: it
allows us to rigorously construct coarse-grained
theories of the physical world, discarding
irrelevant microscopic details. This course
explores the subject from a
non-equilibrium perspective, which has
several benefits. It provides an alternative, and
very enlightening, derivation of the great 19th
century tenets of equilibrium thermodynamics. But
it also gives us access to seminal results only
discovered in the last two decades: fluctuation
theorems and work relations valid for systems far
from equlibrium. These and other non-equilibrium
approaches have become essential tools in fields
as diverse as biophysics, nanotechnology, and
quantum computation. The course will survey
modern research applications through problems and
readings drawn from the recent literature. A
detailed list of topics can be found in the
syllabus.
| Instructor: | | Michael Hinczewski (mxh605@case.edu, homepage) |
| Lectures: | | MWF 11:40am - 12:30pm, Rockefeller Room 306 |
| Office hours: | | M 4:30 - 6pm, Th 2-3 pm, Rockefeller Room 225C |
Readings
The lecture
notes will be
the main reference for the course, since no single
textbook covers all the material in the
syllabus. As we encounter topics drawn from the
recent literature, I will post relevant research
articles
here.
Homework
Acknowledgments: Brownian motion illustration from
kaddar.