Engelska

<p>Present-day elliptical, spiral and irregular galaxies are large systems made of stars, gas and dark matter. Their properties result from a variety of physical processes that have occurred during the nearly fourteen billion years since the Big Bang. This comprehensive textbook, which bridges the gap between introductory and specialized texts, explains the key physical processes of galaxy formation, from the cosmological recombination of primordial gas to the evolution of the different galaxies that we observe in the Universe today. </p><p>In a logical sequence, the book introduces cosmology, illustrates the properties of galaxies in the present-day Universe, then explains the physical processes behind galaxy formation in the cosmological context, taking into account the most recent developments in this field. The text ends on how to find distant galaxies with multi-wavelength observations, and how to extract the physical and evolutionary properties based on imaging and spectroscopic data.<br/></p>

Statistical physics has its origins in attempts to describe the thermal properties of matter in terms of its constituent particles, and has played a fundamental role in the development of quantum mechanics. Based on lectures taught by Professor Kardar at MIT, this textbook introduces the central concepts and tools of statistical physics. It contains a chapter on probability and related issues such as the central limit theorem and information theory, and covers interacting particles, with an extensive description of the van der Waals equation and its derivation by mean field approximation. It also contains an integrated set of problems, with solutions to selected problems at the end of the book and a complete set of solutions is available to lecturers on a password protected website at www.cambridge.org/9780521873420. A companion volume, Statistical Physics of Fields, discusses non-mean field aspects of scaling and critical phenomena, through the perspective of renormalization group.

Clear and reader-friendly, this is an ideal textbook for students seeking an introduction to thermal physics. Written by an experienced teacher and extensively class-tested, Thermal Physics provides a comprehensive grounding in thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and kinetic theory. A key feature of this text is its readily accessible introductory chapters, which begin with a review of fundamental ideas. Entropy, conceived microscopically and statistically, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics are introduced early in the book. Throughout, topics are built on a conceptual foundation of four linked elements: entropy and the Second Law, the canonical probability distribution, the partition function, and the chemical potential. As well as providing a solid preparation in the basics of the subject, the text goes on to explain exciting recent developments such as Bose-Einstein condensation and critical phenomena. Key equations are highlighted throughout, and each chapter contains a summary of essential ideas and an extensive set of problems of varying degrees of difficulty. A free solutions manual is available for instructors (ISBN 0521 658608). Thermal Physics is suitable for both undergraduates and graduates in physics and astronomy.

Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics, Extended Version