Bücher der Reihe Fundamental Theories of Physic

This book presents the fundamentals of stochastic thermodynamics, one of the most central subjects in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. It also explores many recent advances, e.g., in information thermodynamics, the thermodynamic uncertainty relation, and the trade-off relation between efficiency and power.The content is divided into three main parts, the first of which introduces readers to fundamental topics in stochastic thermodynamics, e.g., the basics of stochastic processes, the fluctuation theorem and its variants, information thermodynamics, and large deviation theory. In turn, parts two and three explore advanced topics such as autonomous engines (engines not controlled externally) and finite speed engines, while also explaining the key concepts from recent stochastic thermodynamics theory that are involved.To fully benefit from the book, readers only need an undergraduate-level background in statistical mechanics and quantum mechanics; no backgroundin information theory or stochastic processes is needed. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable resource for early graduate or higher-level readers who are unfamiliar with this subject but want to keep up with the cutting-edge research in this field. In addition, the author¿s vivid descriptions interspersed throughout the book will help readers grasp ¿living¿ research developments and begin their own research in this field.

This book presents a comprehensive account of the renormalization-group (RG) method and its extension, the doublet scheme, in a geometrical point of view. It extract long timescale macroscopic/mesoscopic dynamics from microscopic equations in an intuitively understandable way rather than in a mathematically rigorous manner and introduces readers to a mathematically elementary, but useful and widely applicable technique for analyzing asymptotic solutions in mathematical models of nature. The book begins with the basic notion of the RG theory, including its connection with the separation of scales. Then it formulates the RG method as a construction method of envelopes of the naive perturbative solutions containing secular terms, and then demonstrates the formulation in various types of evolution equations. Lastly, it describes successful physical examples, such as stochastic and transport phenomena including second-order relativistic as well as nonrelativistic fluid dynamics with causality and transport phenomena in cold atoms, with extensive numerical expositions of transport coefficients and relaxation times. Requiring only an undergraduate-level understanding of physics and mathematics, the book clearly describes the notions and mathematical techniques with a wealth of examples. It is a unique and can be enlightening resource for readers who feel mystified by renormalization theory in quantum field theory.

To understand phenomena in nature, it is important to focus not only on properties of stationary states, but also their changes in time, that is, the dynamics between bistable states. This book reviews the mechanics of first-order phase transitions and discusses relaxation and collapses of metastable states from various viewpoints, including Kramers' method for the lifetime of metastability, Langer's analysis on the singularity, effects of thermal fluctuation studied by Neel and Brown, and eigenvalue structures of the transfer-matrix for the phase transitions. The book also goes into the mechanics of metastability in quantum systems from the viewpoints of the eigenvalue problem of the Hamiltonian and the Liouvillian for a dynamical process and discusses relations between quantum tunneling processes and metastability therein. Lastly, the coercivity of magnets consisting of an ensemble of grains is reviewed.The book is beneficial for those new in the field as a primer on first-order phase transition from modern perspectives. The comprehensive content offers overviews of related topics and allows readers to quickly catch up with developments in the field.