Large Deviations in Physics, 2014 The Legacy of the Law of Large Numbers Lecture Notes in Physics Series, Vol. 885

This book reviews the basic ideas of the Law of Large Numbers with its consequences to the deterministic world and the issue of ergodicity. Applications of Large Deviations and their outcomes to Physics are surveyed. The book covers topics encompassing ergodicity and its breaking and the modern applications of Large deviations to equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics, disordered and chaotic systems, and turbulence.

Ergodicity – A Basic Concept.- Large Deviations in Statistical Mechanics: Rigorous and Non-Rigorous.- Large Deviation Techniques for Long-Range Interactions.- Fluctuation-Dissipation and Fluctuation Relations: From Equilibrium to Nonequilibrium Phenomena and Back.- Stochastic Fluctuations in Deterministic Systems.- Large Deviation and Disordered Systems.- Large Deviations in Turbulence.- Ergodicity Breaking Challenges Monte Carlo Methods.- Anomalous Diffusion: Deterministic and Stochastic Perspectives.- The Use of Fluctuation Relations for the Analysis of Free-Energy Landscapes.