Stochastic Processes in Physics and Chemistry

by N.G. Van Kampen

Overview

The third edition of Van Kampen's standard work has been revised and updated. The main difference with the second edition is that the contrived application of the quantum master equation in section 6 of chapter XVII has been replaced with a satisfactory treatment of quantum fluctuations. Apart from that throughout the text corrections have been made and a number of references to later developments have been included. From the recent textbooks the following are the most relevant.C.W.Gardiner, Quantum Optics (Springer, Berlin 1991)D.T. Gillespie, Markov Processes (Academic Press, San Diego 1992)W.T. Coffey, Yu.P.Kalmykov, and J.T.Waldron, The Langevin Equation (2nd edition, World Scientific, 2004) - Comprehensive coverage of fluctuations and stochastic methods for describing them - A must for students and researchers in applied mathematics, physics and physical chemistry

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780080475363
Publisher:	North Holland
Publication date:	08/30/2011
Series:	North-Holland Personal Library
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
File size:	7 MB

Table of Contents

I. Stochastic variablesII. Random eventsIII. Stochastic processesIV. Markov processesV. The master equationVI. One-step processesVII. Chemical reactionsVIII. The Fokker-Planck equationIX. The Langevin approachX. The expansion of the master equationXI. The diffusion typeXII. First-passage problemsXIII. Unstable systemsXIV. Fluctuations in continuous systemsXV. The statistics of jump eventsXVI. Stochastic differential equationsXVII. Stochastic behavior of quantum systems

Editorial Reviews

Van Kampen has produced a superbly written, physically motivated introduction to the theory of stochastic processes. ... an excellent introduction to the use (and avoidance of abuse) of master equations. It should be in every physics and chemistry library.
Physics Today, on the first edition
This is a book which ... could be expected to become an essential part of the library of every physical scientist concerned with problems involving fluctuations and stochastic processes, as well as those who just enjoy a beautifully written book. It provides an extensive graduate-level introduction which is clear, cautious, interesting and readable.
Physics Bulletin

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