Statistical Physics

The first aim of these lectures will be to give a brief overview of the physical and dynamical mechanisms which determine Earth’s climate. We will start with the atmospheric radiative transfer and the energy fluxes provided by the fluid dynamics of the atmosphere and the oceans.

Phase transitions take place in many different branches of physics: from soft and hard condensed matter to cosmology and high-energy physics. This course presents the fundamental ideas, concepts and methods that underpin the modern theory of phase transitions. 

Modern physics is characterized by an increasing complexity of systems under investigation, in domains as diverse as condensed matter, astrophysics, biophysics, etc. Due to the growing availability of experimental data, data-driven modelling is emerging as a powerful way to model those systems. The objective of the course is to provide the theoretical concepts and practical tools necessary to understand and to use these approaches.

In this course, you will learn tools and ideas developed by statistical physics to deal with "complex systems". These tools can be used in different contexts, including economics and social sciences where the modelling of collective phenomena, crises, panics, and discontinuities, is more necessary than ever.