# Is statistical physics background desirable for probability theory?

I am talking about higher probability viz. Brownian Motion, Ergodic Theory, Concentration, Percolation, Random Graphs, Random Matrix, etc. Going through books, I find that somehow or the other, many theorems in probability come from motivation from physics: they observe a physics phenomenon, then they think about it mathematically, and out comes a theorem.

Probably I'll give an example. Dynamical systems are, in my opinion, an offshoot of physics. The very concept of ergodicity i.e. measure-theoretic non-decomposability of the system into two non-trivial components can be best motivated using the free flow of gas molecules in a room, rather than just writing some dry $T^{-1}A=A\implies \mu(A)\mu(A^c)=0$.

The latter is of course fine, and rigorous and precise, but does not really tell the story.

I want to do research in probability. I have a firm understanding of the mathematics. However, I have not done any undergraduate or graduate physics course. So I am afraid that despite knowing the maths, my knowledge will be dry and if I wish to devise a theorem, I have to heavily rely on measures and stuff, on purely mathematical inequalities, although if I have an understanding of statistical mechanics, then at least I would be able to "guess" what my bounds can be, say for inequalities, or what I really want to say.

Your opinion is highly solicited. To be a good researcher in probability, would it be better for me to learn physics? If so, which part? Any book recommendation? Particularly any book that "connects" probability with physics?

Thanks a lot!

• So you want to somehow tie physics to the study of probability for the sole purpose of gaining some intuition about it? – Ant Jul 3 '16 at 6:47
• If you go through Grimmet's Percolation, you'll see how they start talking about physics from the start. Concentration inequalities, I've read, come from physical interpretations. I can of course use maths to answer questions but say you are trying to find a new result. How would you proceed? Instead of trying to "find" a bound, say, which somehow happens to fit the bill, what if you can visualize what's happening in physics, and already have an "idea" of what you want? So in that case, tying physics to probability wouldn't be a bad idea I guess! – Landon Carter Jul 3 '16 at 6:52
• But this line of reasoning would apply to mathematical finance too? – BCLC Jul 3 '16 at 13:58
• I think a prior idea of finance is good if you wish to read math finance, isn't it? – Landon Carter Jul 4 '16 at 4:07
• "Your opinion is highly solicited. To be a good researcher in probability, would it be better for me to learn physics?" Better than what exactly? It is clearly good to learn physics and it is clearly better than some things (such as spending your time playing video games). Whether or not it is better than some other things (such as learning R programming) is less clear and doesn't really have an answer which is independent of either your background or your interests. – John Coleman Jul 7 '16 at 23:14