Admission Requirements
Bachelor in Physics and knowledge of basic statistical mechanics.
Description
What do a magnet, a Bose-Einstein condensate and a flock of birds have in common? All these systems exhibit a collective behavior and have large-scale physical properties that cannot be understood in terms of a simple extrapolation of the properties of a few particles. Conversely, systems comprising many interacting subunits often present entirely new properties, that scientists refer to as emergent.
Statistical Physics A, is the first part of a two-part introductory course on emergent phenomena in equilibrium and non-equilibrium systems. The course provides an introduction to phase transitions and critical phenomena at equilibrium. The second (elective) part of this course is given in Statistical Physics B and is focused on emergent phenomena in non-equilibrium systems (i.e. collective motion in animals and other biological systems etc.)
The course consists of 10 lectures and 5 tutorials (exercise classes), during which the students will practice the concepts and the techniques learned during the lectures by solving problems.
Topics
Introduction to phase transitions and critical phenomena in statistical mechanics.
The one-dimensional Ising model: exact solution via transfer matrix method.
The two-dimensional Ising model: domain walls and Peierls’ argument.
Mean field theory.
Fluctuations theory and field-theoretical approach to critical phenomena.
Universality, scaling and critical dimensions.
Real-space renormalization group.
Momentum-shell renormalization group and ε-expansion.
Course Objectives
The aim of the course is to develop a strong foundation in advanced statistical mechanics with an emphasis on emergent phenomena. Furthermore, the course aims to provide the students with a toolbox of mathematical techniques that can be readily used in theoretical and experimental research projects.
Specifically, at the end of the course, successful students will have learned how to:
Solve 1-dimensional spin models and calculate quantities of physical interests such as the average magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, energy, entropy etc.
Set up a mean-field theory for the Ising model and analogous models and use it to calculate the critical exponents.
Recognize the scale-invariance and how it connects with second order phase transitions.
Construct a field theory for magnetism by perfuming the continuum limit of the mean-field Ising model and use it to calculate the spin-spin correlation function and other relevant quantities.
Apply Wilson’s renormalization group, in real and Fourier space, to go beyond mean-field and accurately describe the critical behavior of ferromagnets.
Timetable
Physics Schedule
For detailed information go to Timetable in Brightspace
You will find the timetables for all courses and degree programmes of Leiden University in the tool MyTimetable (login). Any teaching activities that you have sucessfully registered for in MyStudyMap will automatically be displayed in MyTimeTable. Any timetables that you add manually, will be saved and automatically displayed the next time you sign in.
MyTimetable allows you to integrate your timetable with your calendar apps such as Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and other calendar apps on your smartphone. Any timetable changes will be automatically synced with your calendar. If you wish, you can also receive an email notification of the change. You can turn notifications on in ‘Settings’ (after login).
For more information, watch the video or go the the 'help-page' in MyTimetable. Please note: Joint Degree students Leiden/Delft have to merge their two different timetables into one. This video explains how to do this.
Mode of instruction
See Brightspace
Assessment method
Final exam with open questions and homework assignments for bonus points.
Reading list
Nigel Goldenfeld, Lectures of phase transitions and the renormalization group (Perseus Books, 1992).
Registration
From the academic year 2022-2023 on every student has to register for courses with the new enrollment tool MyStudyMap. There are two registration periods per year: registration for the fall semester opens in July and registration for the spring semester opens in December. Please see this page for more information.
Please note that it is compulsory to both preregister and confirm your participation for every exam and retake. Not being registered for a course means that you are not allowed to participate in the final exam of the course. Confirming your exam participation is possible until ten days before the exam.
Extensive FAQ's on MyStudymap can be found here.
Contact
Lecturer: Dr. Luca Giomi
Remarks
Transferable skills
At the end of the course, students will have been trained how to:
Decompose a complex concept into simpler steps, each of which can be rationalized at an intuitive level.
Think across individual academic disciplines and use analogies with other fields (e.g. computer graphics) to build up physical intuition.
Not to stop after the first hints of success, but aim at greater goals.