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Foundations of statistical mechanics / Roman Frigg, Charlotte Werndl
Contributor(s): Resource type: Ressourcentyp: Buch (Online)Book (Online)Language: English Series: Cambridge elements. Elements in the philosophy of physicsPublisher: Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2023Copyright date: ©2023Description: 1 Online-RessourceISBN:- 9781009022798
- 530.13 23/eng/20231227
- QC174.8
Contents:
Summary: Statistical mechanics is the third pillar of modern physics, next to quantum theory and relativity theory. It aims to account for the behaviour of macroscopic systems in terms of the dynamical laws that govern their microscopic constituents and probabilistic assumptions about them. In this Element, the authors investigate the philosophical and foundational issues that arise in SM. The authors introduce the two main theoretical approaches in SM, Boltzmannian SM and Gibbsian SM, and discuss how they conceptualise equilibrium and explain the approach to it. In doing so, the authors examine how probabilities are introduced into the theories, how they deal with irreversibility, how they understand the relation between the micro and the macro level, and how the two approaches relate to each other. Throughout, the authors also pinpoint open problems that can be subject of future research. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge CorePPN: PPN: 1916246125Package identifier: Produktsigel: ZDB-94-OAB
Cover -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Foundations of Statistical Mechanics -- Contents -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 The Aims of Statistical Mechanics -- 1.2 The Theoretical Landscape of SM -- 1.3 Outline -- 2 Mechanics and Probability -- 2.1 Dynamical Systems -- 2.2 Hamiltonian Mechanics -- 2.3 Time-Reversal Invariance -- 2.4 Poincaré Recurrence -- 2.5 Ergodicity -- 2.6 Probability Theory -- 2.7 Points of Contact -- 3 Boltzmannian Statistical Mechanics -- 3.1 The Bare Bones of BSM -- 3.2 Defining Equilibrium: The Combinatorial Argument -- 3.3 The Approach to Equilibrium: The Ergodic Account -- 3.4 Two Objections: Loschmidt and Zermelo -- 3.5 The Residence Time Account -- 3.6 Typicality -- 3.7 Where Have Probabilities Gone? -- 3.8 Conditional Probabilities and the Mentaculus -- 3.9 Open Problems -- 4 Gibbsian Statistical Mechanics -- 4.1 A Primer on GSM -- 4.2 Articulating AP: Ergodicity -- 4.3 Probabilism -- 4.4 Articulating AP: Fluctuations -- 4.5 GSM and the Approach to Equilibrium -- 4.6 Coarse-Graining -- 4.7 Interventionism -- 4.8 The Epistemic Account -- 4.9 The Relation between GSM and BSM -- 4.10 Open Questions for GSM -- References -- Acknowledgements.
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