Statistical physics is the branch of physics that describes many-body systems with methods from probability theory and statistics. In this course, we focus on interacting systems and out-of-equilibrium systems.
Prerequisites
It is strongly recommended to have followed an introductory course on Statistical Physics, such as
Statistical Physics A or Termodynamika i fizyka statystyczna R.
Organisation
The course will start on 2 October 2025.
Lecturer: Jeffrey Everts, room 5.32
Tutor: Reinier van Buel, room 5.63
Classes: Every Wednesday, 12:15 - 15:00, room 2.06
Tutorials: Every Thursday, 16:15 - 19:00, room 1.38
Midterm exam: Monday 17.11.2025 (9:00-12:00), room B2.38
Final exam: Tuesday 03.02.2026 (9:00-13:00), room B2.38
Retake exam: Wednesday 18.02.2026 (9:00-13:00), room B2.38
Always check updated schedule here.
Grading: First term: Hand-in exercises (5x, 20%), Mid-term exam (written, 20%), Final exam (written, 60%). Students can obtain a 10% of maximum grade bonus point for attendance/activity. In the retake session one can choose to base the grade entirely on the retake exam, in case one also participates in the oral exam.
Material
Lecture notes (LN) (work in progress)
An introduction to Modern Statistical Mechanics by David Chandler (DC)
Statistical Physics of Fields by Mehran Kardar (MK)
Theory of simple liquids by Jean-Pierre Hansen and Ian McDonald (HM)
Non-equilibrium thermodynamics by Sybren de Groot and Peter Mazur (GM)
Lectures
Lecture 1 (02-10-2025): Combined with Tutorial 1. Introduction, ensemble theory. See also DC: Chapters 3+4.
Lecture 2 (08-10-2025): Introduction phase transitions and the Ising model within the mean-field approximation. See DC Chapter 5 and MK Chapter 1.
Lecture 3 (15-10-2025): Breakdown of mean-field theory and Landau theory. See DC Secs. 5.1-5.3 and MK Secs. 2.1-2.3.
Lecture 4 (22-10-2025): Statistical fields, Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation, continuous symmetries and Goldstone modes. See MK Secs. 2.4 and 2.5.
Lecture 5 (29-10-2025): Goldstone theorem, Gaussian corrections to mean-field theory, upper critical dimension. See MK Secs. 3.2, 3.5, 3.6. For the interested student: more examples of symmetry breaking and explanation of group theory in this context, see here.
Lecture 6 (05-11-2025):
Lecture 7 (12-11-2025):
Lecture 8 (19-11-2025):
Lecture 9 (26-11-2025):
Lecture 10 (03-12-2025):
Lecture 11 (10-12-2025):
Lecture 12 (17-12-2025):
Lecture 13 (07-01-2026):
Lecture 14 (14-01-2026):
Lecture 15 (21-01-2026):
Tutorials
Problem set 1 (02-10-2025)
Problem set 2 (09-10-2025)
Problem set 3 (16-10-2025) Hand-in sheet 1 (due 23-10-2025, 16:15)
Problem set 4 (23-10-2025)
Problem set 5 (30-10-2025) Hand-in sheet 2 (due 06-11-2025, 16:15)
Problem set 6 (06-11-2025)
No tutorials on 13-11-2025 (Monday schedule)
Problem set 7 (20-11-2025) Hand-in sheet 3 (due 27-11-2025, 16:15)
Problem set 8 (27-11-2025)
Problem set 9 (04-12-2025) Hand-in sheet 4 (due 11-12-2025, 16:15)
Problem set 10(11-12-2025)
Problem set 11(18-12-2025)
Problem set 12 (08-01-2026) Hand-in sheet 5 (due 15-01-2026, 16:15)
Problem set 13 (15-01-2026)
Problem set 14 (22-01-2026)
Previous exams
The exams of the course Topics in Modern Statistical Physics (TiMSP) are representative of what you can expect for the exams in Statistical Physics B. The only difference between the two courses is that in the former more emphasis was put on Soft Matter, whereas in the latter we will put more emphasis on non-equilibrium processes.
Mid-term exam TiMSP (2023-2024)
Final exam TiMSP (2023-2024)
Mid-term exam SPB (2024-2025)
Final exam SPB (2024-2025)
Retake exam SPB (2024-2025)