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Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Applied Mathematics ((IAM,volume 33))

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In this first chapter we will give an outline of some fundamental elements of statistical mechanics, of Hamiltonian dynamics, and of the relationship between them.

The general problem of statistical physics is the following. Given a collection–in general a large collection–of atoms or molecules, given the interaction laws among the constituents of this collection of particles, and given the dynamical evolution laws, how can we predict the macroscopic physical properties of the matter composed of these atoms or molecules?

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(2007). Background in Physics. In: Geometry and Topology in Hamiltonian Dynamics and Statistical Mechanics. Interdisciplinary Applied Mathematics, vol 33. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-49957-4_2

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