Introductory Statistical Mechanics for Physicists

Thermodynamics and Introductory Statistical Mechanics

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Motives: an Introductory Survey for Physicists

We survey certain accessible aspects of Grothendieck’s theory of motives in arithmetic algebraic geometry for mathematical physicists, focussing on areas that have recently found applications in quantum field theory. An appendix (by Matilde Marcolli) sketches further connections between motivic theory and theoretical physics. post hoc, ergo ante hoc – Umberto Eco, Interpretation and overinterpr...

Can atomic physicists help reinvent Introductory Physics?

Much effort has been and is being devoted to the reform of the teaching of physics. This has led to many new and imaginative approaches to the delivery of the course material, but a perusal of today’s Introductory Physics textbooks indicates that their basic structure has changed little in over fifty years. A radical restructuring is proposed that begins with a modern atomic picture rather than...

Introductory fluid mechanics

Introductory lecture on Bohmian mechanics

Bohmian mechanics is a theory of quantum phenomena based on a particle picture. On a fundamental level, it explains the world around us in terms of point particles that move on deterministic paths. When used to describe experimental situations, Bohmian mechanics yields the textbook formalism of quantum mechanics, and can therefore be considered as an explanation of the axioms of standard quantu...