Announcement  -- Please Post --  Apr 10 2003


STATISTICAL MECHANICS II:
CHAOS, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT 

INSTRUCTOR: Predrag Cvitanović
INSTRUCTOR HOMEPAGE: www.cns.gatech.edu/~predrag
TIME: Fall semester 2003, TR 09:35-10:55
ROOM: Howey S106
EXPECTED ENROLLMENT: 15

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Graduate level introduction to modern theoretical physics and mathematics techniques for study of low-dimensional dynamical systems. The emphasis is on the interplay between the geometry and the statistical mechanics associated with the dynamics. The course has much in common with (and complements) graduate level field theory and statistical mechanics courses; partition functions and transfer operators are applied to computation of correlations and spectra of classical and quantum chaotic systems.
* Historical perspective - chaos, and what to do about it.
* Topology of flows - how to enumerate orbits, Smale horseshoes.
* Dynamics, quantitative - periodic orbits, local stability.
* Transfer operators - role of statistical distributions in dynamics.
* Thermodynamic formalism - computing measurable averages.
* Spectroscopy of chaotic systems - dynamical zeta functions.
The course is aimed at PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and advanced undergraduates in physics, mathematics, chemistry and engineering. A term project will take the place of a final exam. The term project will be individually tailored to student's level and research interests.

TEXT: Classical and Quantum Chaos webbook, available on www.cns.gatech.edu/ChaosBook.
COURSE HOME PAGE: www.cns.gatech.edu/~predrag/courses/PHYS-7123-03.
START: Monday Aug 20, 10:05 in Howey S106, with detailed schedule available on www.cns.gatech.edu/~predrag/courses/PHYS-7123-03/syllabus.html.

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