"Introductory Statistical Thermodynamics" is a text for an introductory one-semester course in statistical thermodynamics for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in physics and engineering. The book offers a high level of detail in derivations of all equations and results. This information is necessary for students to grasp difficult concepts in physics that are needed to move on to higher level courses. The text is elementary, self contained, and mathematically well-founded, containing a number of problems with detailed solutions to help students to grasp the more difficult theoretical concepts.

Beginning chapters place an emphasis on quantum mechanics
Includes problems with detailed solutions and a number of detailed theoretical derivations at the end of each chapter
Provides a high level of detail in derivations of all equations and results

This book mainly focuses on the theoretical and experimental study of non-Fourier heat conduction behavior. A novel thermomass theory is used as the theoretical basis, which provides a general heat conduction equation for the accurate prediction of non-Fourier heat conduction. In order to prove the validity of this thermomass theory, a large current was used to heat the metallic nanofilm at the minimum temperature of 3 K. The measured average temperature of the nanofilm was notably higher than the prediction of Fourier's heat diffusion equation, while matching well with the general heat conduction equation. This is the first time that steady non-Fourier heat conduction has been observed. Moreover, this book concerns the role of electron-phonon interaction in metallic nanofilms, which involves the breakdown of the Wiedemann-Franz law at low temperatures and interfacial thermal resistance at femtosecond timescales. Readers will find useful information on non-Fourier heat conduction and the latest advances in the study of charge and heat transport in metallic nanofilms.

This book addresses the application of methods used in statistical physics to complex systems-from simple phenomenological analogies to more complex aspects, such as correlations, fluctuation-dissipation theorem, the concept of free energy, renormalization group approach and scaling. Statistical physics contains a well-developed formalism that describes phase transitions. It is useful to apply this formalism for damage phenomena as well. Fractals, the Ising model, percolation, damage mechanics, fluctuations, free energy formalism, renormalization group, and scaling, are some of the topics covered in Statistical Physics of Phase Transitions.

This book reveals the underlying mechanisms of complexity and stochastic evolutions of traffic flows. Using Eulerian and Lagrangian measurements, the authors propose lognormal headway/spacing/velocity distributions and subsequently develop a Markov car-following model to describe drivers' random choices concerning headways/spacings, putting forward a stochastic fundamental diagram model for wide scattering flow-density points. In the context of highway onramp bottlenecks, the authors present a traffic flow breakdown probability model and spatial-temporal queuing model to improve the stability and reliability of road traffic flows. This book is intended for researchers and graduate students in the fields of transportation engineering and civil engineering.

The paradigm of complexity is pervading both science and engineering, le- ing to the emergence of novel approaches oriented at the development of a systemic view of the phenomena under study; the de?nition of powerful tools for modelling, estimation, and control; and the cross-fertilization of di?erent disciplines and approaches. One of the most promising paradigms to cope with complexity is that of networked systems. Complex, dynamical networks are powerful tools to model, estimate, and control many interesting phenomena, like agent coordination, synch- nization, social and economics events, networks of critical infrastructures, resourcesallocation, informationprocessing, controlovercommunicationn- works, etc. Advances in this ?eld are highlighting approaches that are more and more oftenbasedondynamicalandtime-varyingnetworks, i.e.networksconsisting of dynamical nodes with links that can change over time. Moreover, recent technological advances in wireless communication and decreasing cost and size of electronic devices are promoting the appearance of large inexpensive interconnected systems, each with computational, sensing and mobile ca- bilities. This is fostering the development of many engineering applications, which exploit the availability of these systems of systems to monitor and control very large-scale phenomena with ?ne resoluti

This monograph presents some theoretical and computational aspects of the parameterization method for invariant manifolds, focusing on the following contexts: invariant manifolds associated with fixed points, invariant tori in quasi-periodically forced systems, invariant tori in Hamiltonian systems and normally hyperbolic invariant manifolds. This book provides algorithms of computation and some practical details of their implementation. The methodology is illustrated with 12 detailed examples, many of them well known in the literature of numerical computation in dynamical systems. A public version of the software used for some of the examples is available online. The book is aimed at mathematicians, scientists and engineers interested in the theory and applications of computational dynamical systems.

With the aim of providing a deeper insight into possible mechanisms of biological self-organization, this thesis presents new approaches to describe the process of self-assembly and the impact of spatial organization on the function of membrane proteins, from a statistical physics point of view. It focuses on three important scenarios: the assembly of membrane proteins, the collective response of mechanosensitive channels and the function of the twin arginine translocation (Tat) system. Using methods from equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, general conclusions were drawn that demonstrate the importance of the protein-protein interactions. Namely, in the first part a general aggregation dynamics model is formulated, and used to show that fragmentation crucially affects the efficiency of the self-assembly process of proteins. In the second part, by mapping the membrane-mediated forces into a simplified many-body system, the dynamic and equilibrium behaviour of interacting mechanosensitive channels is derived, showing that protein agglomeration strongly impacts its desired function. The final part develops a model that incorporates both the agglomeration and transport function of the Tat system, thereby providing a comprehensive description of this self-organizing process.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of essential topics related to conventional and advanced drying and energy technologies, especially motivated by increased industry and academic interest. The main topics discussed are: theory and applications of drying, emerging topics in drying technology, innovations and trends in drying, thermo-hydro-chemical-mechanical behaviors of porous materials in drying, and drying equipment and energy. Since the topics covered are inter-and multi-disciplinary, the book offers an excellent source of information for engineers, energy specialists, scientists, researchers, graduate students, and leaders of industrial companies. This book is divided into several chapters focusing on the engineering, science and technology applied in essential industrial processes used for raw materials and products.

Quantum mechanics forms the foundation of all modern physics, including atomic, nuclear, and molecular physics, the physics of the elementary particles, condensed matter physics. Modern astrophysics also relies heavily on quantum mechanics. Quantum theory is needed to understand the basis for new materials, new devices, the nature of light coming from stars, the laws which govern the atomic nucleus, and the physics of biological systems. As a result the subject of this book is a required course for most physics graduate students. While there are many books on the subject, this book targets specifically graduate students and it is written with modern advances in various fields in mind. Many examples treated in the various chapters as well as the emphasis of the presentation in the book are designed from the perspective of such problems. For example, the book begins by putting the Schroedinger equation on a spatial discrete lattice and the continuum limit is also discussed, inspired by Hamiltonian lattice gauge theories. The latter and advances in quantum simulations motivated the inclusion of the path integral formulation. This formulation is applied to the imaginary-time evolution operator to project the exact ground state of the harmonic oscillator as is done in quantum simulations. As an example of how to take advantage of symmetry in quantum mechanics, one-dimensional periodic potentials are discussed, inspired by condensed matter physics. Atoms and molecules are discussed within mean-field like treatment (Hartree-Fock) and how to go beyond it. Motivated by the recent intense activity in condensed matter and atomic physics to study the Hubbard model, the electron correlations in the hydrogen molecule are taken into account by solving the two-site Hubbard model analytically. Using the canonical Hamiltonian quantization of quantum electrodynamics, the photons emerge as the quanta of the normal modes, in the same way as the phonons emerge in the treatment of the normal modes of the coupled array of atoms. This is used later to treat the interaction of radiation with atomic matter.

"Stochastic Tools in Mathematics and Science" covers basic stochastic tools used in physics, chemistry, engineering and the life sciences. The topics covered include conditional expectations, stochastic processes, Brownian motion and its relation to partial differential equations, Langevin equations, the Liouville and Fokker-Planck equations, as well as Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms, renormalization, basic statistical mechanics, and generalized Langevin equations and the Mori-Zwanzig formalism. The applications include sampling algorithms, data assimilation, prediction from partial data, spectral analysis, and turbulence. The book is based on lecture notes from a class that has attracted graduate and advanced undergraduate students from mathematics and from many other science departments at the University of California, Berkeley. Each chapter is followed by exercises. The book will be useful for scientists and engineers working in a wide range of fields and applications. For this new edition the material has been thoroughly reorganized and updated, and new sections on scaling, sampling, filtering and data assimilation, based on recent research, have been added. There are additional figures and exercises. Review of earlier edition: "This is an excellent concise textbook which can be used for self-study by graduate and advanced undergraduate students and as a recommended textbook for an introductory course on probabilistic tools in science." Mathematical Reviews, 2006

The book describes in a simple and practical way what non-equilibrium thermodynamics is and how it can add to engineering fields. It explains how to describe proper equations of transport, more precise than used so far, and how to use them to understand the waste of energy resources in central unit processes in the industry. It introduces the entropy balance as an additional equation to use, to create consistent thermodynamic models, and a systematic method for minimizing energy losses that are connected with transport of heat, mass, charge, momentum and chemical reactions. Readership: Senior undergraduate and graduate students in physics, chemistry, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering.

Over the course of nearly half a century, Sam Edwards has led the field of condensed matter physics into new directions, ranging from the electronic and statistical properties of disordered materials to the mechanical properties of granular materials. Along the way, he has provided seminal contributions to fluid mechanics, polymer science, surface science and statistical mechanics. This volume celebrates the immense scope of his influence by presenting a collection of original articles by recognized leaders in theoretical physics, including two Nobel Laureates and a Fields Medalist, which describe the genesis, evolution and future prospects of the various sub-fields of condensed matter theory, along with reprints of a selection of Edwards' seminal papers that helped give birth to the subject. 'Stealing the Gold', Edwards' favourite caricature of the relationship between theoretical physicists and Nature, will be of singular interest to graduate students looking for an overview of some of the most exciting areas of theoretical physics, as well as to researchers in condensed matter physics looking for a comprehensive, broad and uniquely incisive snapshot of their subject at the dawn of the 21st century.

This book presents a new economic theory developed from physical and biological principles. It explains how technology, social systems and economic values are intimately related to resources. Many people have recognized that mainstream (neoclassical) economic theories are not consistent with physical laws and often not consistent with empirical patterns, but most feel that economic activities are too complex to be described by a simple and coherent mathematical theory. While social systems are indeed complex, all life systems, including social systems, satisfy two principles. First, all systems need to extract resources from the external environment to compensate for their consumption. Second, for a system to be viable, the amount of resource extraction has to be no less than the level of consumption. From these two principles, we derive a quantitative theory of major factors in economic activities, such as fixed cost, variable cost, discount rate, uncertainty and duration. The mathematical theory enables us to systematically measure the effectiveness of different policies and institutional structures at varying levels of resource abundance and cost.The theory presented in this book shows that there do not exist universally optimal policies or institutional structures. Instead, the impacts of different policies or social structures have to be measured within the context of existing levels of resource abundance. As the physical costs of extracting resources rise steadily, many policy assumptions adopted in mainstream economic theories, and workable in times of cheap and abundant energy supplies and other resources, need to be reconsidered. In this rapidly changing world, the theory presented here provides a solid foundation for examining the long-term impacts of today's policy decisions.

This book is based upon lectures presented in the summer of 2009 at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati School on Attractor Mechanism, directed by Stefano Bellucci. The symposium included such prestigious lecturers as S. Ferrara, G. Dall'Agata, J.F. Morales, J. Simon and M. Trigiante. All lectures were given at a pedagogical, introductory level, which is reflected in the specific "flavor" of this volume. The book also benefits from extensive discussions about, and the related reworking of, the various contributions. It is the fifth volume in a series of books on the general topics of supersymmetry, supergravity, black holes and the attractor mechanism.

This book uses less strict yet still formal mathematical language to clarify a variety of concepts in Quantum Field Theory that remain somewhat "fuzzy" in many books designed for undergraduates and fresh graduates. The aim is not to replace formal books on Quantum Field Theory, but rather to offer a helpful complementary tool for beginners in the field. Features include a reader-friendly introduction to tensor calculus and the concept of manifolds; a simple and robust treatment for dimensional regularization; a consistent explanation of the renormalization procedure, step by step and in a transparent manner at all orders, using the QED Lagrangian; and extensive treatment of infrared as well as ultraviolet divergences. The most general (Lorentz invariant) form of Noether's theorem is presented and applied to a few simple yet relevant examples in Quantum Field Theory. These and further interesting topics are addressed in a way that will be accessible for the target readership. Some familiarity with basic notions of Quantum Field Theory and the basics of Special Relativity is assumed.

This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to multi-agent, multi-choice repetitive games, such as the Kolkata Restaurant Problem and the Minority Game. It explains how the tangible formulations of these games, using stochastic strategies developed by statistical physicists employing both classical and quantum physics, have led to very efficient solutions to the problems posed. Further, it includes sufficient introductory notes on information-processing strategies employing both classical statistical physics and quantum mechanics. Games of this nature, in which agents are presented with choices, from among which their goal is to make the minority choice, offer effective means of modeling herd behavior and market dynamics and are highly relevant to assessing systemic risk. Accordingly, this book will be of interest to economists, physicists, and computer scientists alike.

This book covers the parameterization of entry capsules, including Apollo capsules and planetary probes, and winged entry vehicles such as the Space Shuttle and lifting bodies. The aerodynamic modelling is based on a variety of panel methods that take shadowing into account, and it has been validated with flight and wind tunnel data of Apollo and the Space Shuttle. The shape optimization is combined with constrained trajectory analysis, and the multi-objective approach provides the engineer with a Pareto front of optimal shapes. The method detailed in Conceptual Shape Optimization of Entry Vehicles is straightforward, and the output gives the engineer insight in the effect of shape variations on trajectory performance. All applied models and algorithms used are explained in detail, allowing for reconstructing the design tool to the researcher's requirements. Conceptual Shape Optimization of Entry Vehicles will be of interest to both researchers and graduate students in the field of aerospace engineering, and to practitioners within the aerospace industry.

The use of thermodynamics in biological research can be equated to an energy book-keeping system. While the structure and function of a molecule is important, it is equally important to know what drives the energy force. These methods look to answer: What are the sources of energy that drive the function? Which of the pathways are of biological significance? As the base of macromolecular structures continues to expand through powerful techniques of molecular biology, such as X-ray crystal data and spectroscopy methods, the importance of tested and reliable methods for answering these questions will continue to expand as well. This volume presents sophisticated methods for estimating the thermodynamic parameters of specific protein-protein, protein-DNA and small molecule interactions.

* Elucidates the relationships between structure and energetics and their applications to molecular design, aiding researchers in the design of medically important molecules * Provides a "must-have" methods volume that keeps MIE buyers and online subscribers up-to-date with the latest research * Offers step-by-step lab instructions, including necessary equipment, from a global research community

The study of fluctuations in statistical physics has a long history, and a general theory is well established, connecting fluctuations to response properties of equilibrium systems. Remarkably, this framework fails as soon as some current is flowing across the system, driving it out of equilibrium. The presence of currents is quite common in nature and produces rich phenomena which are far from being included in a general framework. This thesis focuses on this general problem by studying different models such as granular materials and systems exhibiting anomalous diffusion and shows how the generalized response techniques can be successfully used to catch the relevant degrees of freedom that drive the systems out of equilibrium. This study paves the way to the use of the generalized fluctuation relations in an operative way, in order to extract information from a non-equilibrium system and to build the corresponding phenomenological theory.

"Fundamental Aspects of Plasma Chemical Physics - Thermodynamics" develops basic and advanced concepts of plasma thermodynamics from both classical and statistical points of view.

After a refreshment of classical thermodynamics applied to the dissociation and ionization regimes, the book invites the reader to discover the role of electronic excitation in affecting the properties of plasmas, a topic often overlooked by the thermal plasma community.

Particular attention is devoted to the problem of the divergence of the partition function of atomic species and the state-to-state approach for calculating the partition function of diatomic and polyatomic molecules. The limit of ideal gas approximation is also discussed, by introducing Debye-Huckel and virial corrections.

Throughout the book, worked examples are given in order to clarify concepts and mathematical approaches.

This book is a first of a series of three books to be published by the authors on fundamental aspects of plasma chemical physics. The next books will discuss transport and kinetics.

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This book presents a new algorithm to calculate fluid flow and heat transfer of laminar mixed convection. It provides step-by-step tutorial help to learn quickly how to set up the theoretical and numerical models of laminar mixed convection, to consider the variable physical properties of fluids, to obtain the system of numerical solutions, to create a series of formalization equations for the convection heat transfer by using a curve-fitting approach combined with theoretical analysis and derivation. It presents the governing ordinary differential equations of laminar mixed convection, equivalently transformed by an innovative similarity transformation with the description of the related transformation process. A system of numerical calculations of the governing ordinary differential equations is presented for the water laminar mixed convection. A polynomial model is induced for convenient and reliable treatment of variable physical properties of liquids. The developed formalization equations of mixed convection heat transfer coefficient have strong theoretical and practical value for heat transfer applications because they are created based on a better consideration of variable physical properties of fluids, accurate numerical solutions and rigorous formalization equations combined with rigorous theoretical derivation. This book is suitable for scientific researchers, engineers, professors, master and PhD students of fluid mechanics and convection heat and mass transfer.

Holistic Engineering Education: Beyond Technology is a compilation of coordinated and focused essays from world leaders in the engineering profession who are dedicated to a transformation of engineering education and practice. The contributors define a new and holistic approach to education and practice that captures the creativity, interdisciplinarity, complexity, and adaptability required for the profession to grow and truly serve global needs. With few exceptions today, engineering students and professionals continue to receive a traditional, technically-based education and training using curriculum models developed for early 20th century manufacturing and machining. While this educational paradigm has served engineering well, helping engineers create awe-inspiring machines and technologies for society, the coursework and expectations of most engineering programs eschew breadth and intellectual exploration to focus on consistent technological precision and study. Why this dichotomy?

While engineering will always need precise technological skill, the 21st century innovation economy demands a new professional perspective that recognizes the value of complex systems thinking, cross-disciplinary collaborations, economic and environmental impacts (sustainability), and effective communication to global and community leaders, thus enabling engineers to consider "the whole patient" of society's needs. The goal of this book is to inspire, lead, and guide this critically needed transformation of engineering education.

"Holistic Engineering Education: Beyond Technology points the way to a transformation of engineering education and practice that will be sufficiently robust, flexible, and systems-oriented to meet the grand challenges of the 21st century with their ever-increasing scale, complexity, and transdisciplinary nature."

-- Charles Vest, President, National Academy of Engineering; President Emeritus, MIT
"This collection of essays provides compelling arguments for the need of an engineering education that prepares engineers for the problems of the 21st century. Following the National Academy s report on the Engineer of 2020, this book brings together experts who make the case for an engineering profession that looks beyond developing just cool technologies and more into creating solutions that can address important problems to benefit real people."

-- Linda Katehi, Chancellor, University of California at Davis

"This superb volume offers a provocative portrait of the exciting future of engineering education A dramatically new form of engineering education is needed that recognizes this field as a liberal art, as a profession that combines equal parts technical rigor and creative design The authors challenge the next generation to engineering educators to imagine, think and act in new ways. "

-- Lee S. Shulman, President Emeritus, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus, Stanford University"

This book is the first to present the application of the hybrid system theory to systems with EPCA (equations with piecewise continuous arguments). The hybrid system paradigm is a valuable modeling tool for describing a wide range of real-world applications. Moreover, although new technology has produced, and continues to produce highly hierarchical sophisticated machinery that cannot be analyzed as a whole system, hybrid system representation can be used to reduce the structural complexity of these systems. That is to say, hybrid systems have become a modeling priority, which in turn has led to the creation of a promising research field with several application areas. As such, the book explores recent developments in the area of deterministic and stochastic hybrid systems using the Lyapunov and Razumikhin-Lyapunov methods to investigate the systems' properties. It also describes properties such as stability, stabilization, reliable control, H-infinity optimal control, input-to-state stability (ISS)/stabilization, state estimation, and large-scale singularly perturbed systems.