Exploring one of the most exciting and potentially rewarding areas of scientific research, the study of the principles and mechanisms underlying brain function, this book introduces and explains the techniques brought from physics to the study of neural networks and the insights they have stimulated. Substantial progress in understanding memory, the learning process, and self-organization by studying the properties of models of neural networks have resulted in discoveries of important parallels between the properties of statistical, nonlinear cooperative systems in physics and neural...

This invaluable textbook is an introduction to statistical physics that has been written primarily for self-study. It provides a comprehensive approach to the main ideas of statistical physics at the level of an introductory course, starting from the kinetic theory of gases and proceeding all the way to Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics. Each idea is brought out with ample motivation and clear, step-by-step, deductive exposition. The key points and methods are presented and discussed on the basis of concrete representative systems, such as the paramagnet, Einstein's solid, the diatomic...

This invaluable textbook is an introduction to statistical physics that has been written primarily for self-study. It provides a comprehensive approach to the main ideas of statistical physics at the level of an introductory course, starting from the kinetic theory of gases and proceeding all the way to Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics. Each idea is brought out with ample motivation and clear, step-by-step, deductive exposition. The key points and methods are presented and discussed on the basis of concrete representative systems, such as the paramagnet, Einstein's solid, the diatomic...

This volume links field theory methods and concepts from particle physics with those in critical phenomena and statistical mechanics, the development starting from the latter point of view. Rigor and lengthy proofs are trimmed by using the phenomenological framework of graphs, power counting, etc., and field theoretic methods with emphasis on renormalization group techniques. Non-perturbative methods and numerical simulations are introduced in this new edition. Abundant references to research literature complement this matter-of-fact approach. The book introduces quantum field theory to those...

This volume links field theory methods and concepts from particle physics with those in critical phenomena and statistical mechanics, the development starting from the latter point of view. Rigor and lengthy proofs are trimmed by using the phenomenological framework of graphs, power counting, etc., and field theoretic methods with emphasis on renormalization group techniques. Non-perturbative methods and numerical simulations are introduced in this new edition. Abundant references to research literature complement this matter-of-fact approach. The book introduces quantum field theory to those...