R. Kubo – författare

Statistical Mechanics provides a series of concise lectures on the fundamental theories of statistical mechanics, carefully chosen examples and a number of problems with complete solutions.

Modern physics has opened the way for a thorough examination of infra-structure of nature and understanding of the properties of matter from an atomistic point of view. Statistical mechanics is an essential bridge between the laws of nature on a microscopic scale and the macroscopic behaviour of matter. A good training in statistical mechanics thus provides a basis for modern physics and is indispensable to any student in physics, chemistry, biophysics and engineering sciences who wishes to work in these rapidly developing scientific and technological fields.

The collection of examples and problems is comprehensive. The problems are grouped in order of increasing difficulty.

This is the Proceedings of the Taniguchi International Symposium on "Relaxation of Elementary Excitations" which was held October 12-16,1979, at Susono-shi (at the foot of f1t. Fuji) in Japan. The pleasant atmosphere of the Symposium is evidenced in the picture of the participants shown on the next page. The purpose of the symposium was to provide an opportunity for a limited number of active researchers to meet and to discuss relaxation processes and related phenomena not only of excitons and phonons in solids but also electronic and vibrational excitations in molecules and biological systems. First, the lattice relaxation, i.e., multi-phonon process, associated with electronic excitation, which plays important roles in self-trapping of an exciton and a particle (electron and hole) and also in degradation of semi­ conductor lasers, is discussed. Second, this lattice relaxation is studied as the intermediate state interaction in the second-order optical responses, i.e., in connection with the competitive behavior of Raman scattering and luminescence. Third, relaxation mechanisms and relaxation constants are by spectroscopic methods as well as by genuine nonlinear optical determined phenomena. Conversely the relaxation is decisive in coherent nonlinear optical phenomena such as laser, superradiance, and optical bistability. Fourth, the role played by relaxation processes is discussed for optical phenomena in macromolecules and biological system such as photosynthesis.

This is the Proceedings of the Taniguchi International Symposium on "Relaxation of Elementary Excitations" which was held October 12-16,1979, at Susono-shi (at the foot of f1t. Fuji) in Japan. The pleasant atmosphere of the Symposium is evidenced in the picture of the participants shown on the next page. The purpose of the symposium was to provide an opportunity for a limited number of active researchers to meet and to discuss relaxation processes and related phenomena not only of excitons and phonons in solids but also electronic and vibrational excitations in molecules and biological systems. First, the lattice relaxation, i.e., multi-phonon process, associated with electronic excitation, which plays important roles in self-trapping of an exciton and a particle (electron and hole) and also in degradation of semi­ conductor lasers, is discussed. Second, this lattice relaxation is studied as the intermediate state interaction in the second-order optical responses, i.e., in connection with the competitive behavior of Raman scattering and luminescence. Third, relaxation mechanisms and relaxation constants are by spectroscopic methods as well as by genuine nonlinear optical determined phenomena. Conversely the relaxation is decisive in coherent nonlinear optical phenomena such as laser, superradiance, and optical bistability. Fourth, the role played by relaxation processes is discussed for optical phenomena in macromolecules and biological system such as photosynthesis.

This first volume of Statistical Physics is an introduction to the theories of equilibrium statistical mechanics, whereas the second volume (Springer Ser. Solid-State Sci., Vol. 31) is devoted to non equilibrium theories. Particular emphasis is placed on fundamental principles and basic con­ cepts and ideas. We start with physical examples of probability and kinetics, and then describe the general principles of statistical mechanics, with appli­ cations to quantum statistics, imperfect gases, electrolytes, and phase tran­ sitions, including critical phenomena. Finally, ergodic problems, the me­ chanical basis of statistical mechanics, are presented. The original text was written in Japanese as a volume of the Iwanami Series in Fundamental Physics, supervised by Professor H. Yukawa. The first edition was published in 1973 and the second in 1978. The English edition has been divided into two volumes at the request of the publisher, and the chapter on ergodic problems, which was at the end of the original book, is included here as Chapter 5. Chapters 1,2,3 and part of Chapter 4 were written by M. Toda, and Chapters 4 and 5 by N. Saito. More extensive references have been added for further reading, and some parts of the final chapters have been revised to bring the text up to date. It is a pleasure to express my gratitude to Professor P. Fulde for his detailed improvements in the manuscript, and to Dr. H. Lotsch of Springer­ Verlag for his continued cooperation.