{ "cells": [ { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "## Equipartition " ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "The statistical physics of a system is particularly simple when the total energy only depends quadratically on the dynamic variables, e.g. the positions of particles or the length of a polymer. As we discuss below, the simplification comes from the fact that evaluating the partition function merely involved carrying out Gaussian integrals, which can be done analytically. \n", "\n", "