Thermodynamics, Gibbs Method and Statistical Physics of Electron Gases

Thermodynamicsandstatisticalphysicsstudythephysicalproperties(mec- nical, thermal, magnetic, optical, electrical, etc.) of the macroscopic system. The tasks and objects of study in thermodynamics and statistical physics are identical. However,the methods of investigationinto macroscopicsystems are di?erent. Thermodynamics is a phenomenological theory. It studies the properties of bodies, without going into the mechanism of phenomena, i.e., not taking into consideration the relation between the internal structure of substance and phenomena, it generalizes experimental results. As a result of such a g- eralization, postulates and laws of thermodynamics made their appearance. These laws make it possible to ?nd general relations between the di?erent properties of macroscopic systems and the physical events occurring in them. Statisticalphysicsisa microscopic theory.Onthebasisoftheknowledgeof the type of particles a system consists of, the nature of their interaction, and thelawsofmotionoftheseparticlesissuingfromtheconstructionofsubstance, it explains the properties being observedon experiment, and predicts the new properties of systems.
Using the laws of classical or quantum mechanics, and alsothe theoryofprobability,itestablishesqualitativelynewstatistical app- priatenesses of the physical properties of macroscopic systems, substantiates the laws of thermodynamics, determines the limits of their applicability, gives the statistical interpretation of thermodynamic parameters, and also works out methods of calculations of their means. The Gibbs method is based on statisticalphysics.Thismethodis themostcanonical.Therefore,inthis book, the exposition of the Gibbs method takes an important place.

Author Biography

After graduating in Physics from Baku State University, Azerbaijan, Bahram Askerov received his Ph.D. from Institute of Semiconductors, St.Petersburg, Russia, in 1962 (principal supervisor Professor A. I. Anselm). Since 1971 he is Chair of Solid State Physics, Department of Physics, Baku State University, Azerbaijan. S.Figarova received her Ph.D. in 1981 (her principal supervisor was professor B.M.Askerov), and her DSc in 2008. She is the author of a manual and numerous research articles in the field of condensed matter physics. At present her research efforts center around studies of transport properties in low-dimensional systems. She is an associate professor of the Chair of Solid State Physics, Department of Physics, Baku State Univers