Discussing the foundations of both classical and quantum statistical mechanics, this book aims to bridge a gap that exists between standard textbooks on the subject and more advanced books. It is devised for a one-semester course on statistical mechanics at the graduate level. Its prerequisite is therefore a more elementary course on the same subject. Emphasis is laid on the geometrical aspects of classical thermodynamics, on the foundational problems, and on selected applications, mainly to spin systems, the meaning of quantum statistics, phase transitions, critical phenomena and the...

This book covers the foundations of classical thermodynamics, with emphasis on the use of differential forms of classical and quantum statistical mechanics, and also on the foundational aspects. In both contexts, a number of applications are considered in detail, such as the general theory of response, correlations and fluctuations, and classical and quantum spin systems. In the quantum case, a self-contained introduction to path integral methods is given. In addition, the book discusses phase transitions and critical phenomena, with applications to the Landau theory and to the...

The book aims to bridge the gap between standard textbooks on the subject and more advanced books, discussing in a more thorough way the foundations of both classical and quantum statistical mechanics. It is devised for a one-semester graduate course on statistical mechanics. Its prerequisite is therefore a more elementary course on the same subject. Emphasis is laid on the geometrical aspects of classical thermodynamics, on the foundational problems, and on selected applications (mainly to spin systems), the meaning of quantum statistics, phase transitions, critical phenomena, and the...