Statistical Mechanics in a Nutshell, Second Edition - Hardcover

by Luca Peliti (Author), Anthony Zee (Foreword by)

The essential introduction to modern statistical mechanics--now completely updated and expanded

• Features a new chapter on stochastic thermodynamics with an introduction to the thermodynamics of information--the first treatment of its kind in an introductory textbook
• Offers a more detailed account of numerical simulations, including simulated annealing and other accelerated Monte Carlo methods
• The chapter on complex systems now features an accessible introduction to the replica theory of spin glasses and the Hopfield theory of neural networks, with an emphasis on applications
• Provides a new discussion of defect-mediated transitions and their implications for two-dimensional melting
• An invaluable resource for graduate students and advanced undergraduates seeking a compact primer on the core ideas of statistical mechanics
• Solutions manual (available only to instructors)

Author Biography

Luca Peliti is deputy director of the Santa Marinella Research Institute and professor emeritus of statistical mechanics at the University of Naples Federico II. He is the author (with Simone Pigolotti) of Stochastic Thermodynamics: An Introduction (Princeton).