Statistical Mechanics

This textbook provides a comprehensive, yet accessible, introduction to statistical mechanics. Crafted and class-tested over many years of teaching, it carefully guides advanced undergraduate and graduate students who are encountering statistical mechanics for the first time through this - sometimes - intimidating subject. The book provides a strong foundation in thermodynamics and the ensemble formalism of statistical mechanics. An introductory chapter on probability theory is included. Applications include degenerate Fermi systems, Bose-Einstein condensation, cavity radiation, phase transitions, and critical phenomena. The book concludes with a treatment of scaling theories and the renormalization group.