STATISTICAL DYNAMICS - A STOCHASTIC APPROACH TO NONEQUILIBRIUM THERMODYNAMICS

How to construct dynamical systems obeying the first and second laws of thermodynamics: mean energy is conserved, and entropy increases with time? The book answers this question for classical probability (Part I) and quantum probability (Part II). Anovel feature is the introduction of heat particles which supply thermal noise and represent the kinetic energy of molecules. When applied to chemical reactions, the theory leads to a nonlinear reaction - diffusion equations exhibiting oscillations or convergence to equilibrium.