Information Theory and Selected Applications - Ben-Naim, Arieh

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Résumé :
This book focuses on analysing the applications of the Shannon Measure of Information (SMI). The book introduces the concept of frustration and discusses the question of the quantification of this concept within information theory (IT), while it also focuses on the interpretation of the entropy of systems of interacting particles in terms of the SMI and of mutual information. The author examines the question of the possibility of measuring the extent of frustration using mutual information and discusses some classical examples of processes of mixing and assimilation for which the entropy changes are interpreted in terms of SMI. A description of a few binding systems and the interpretation of cooperativity phenomena in terms of mutual information are also presented, along with a detailed discussion on the general method of using maximum SMI in order to find the ?best-guess? probability distribution. This book is a valuable contribution to the field of information theory and will be of great interest to any scientist who is interested in IT and in its potential applications.

Biographie:
Arieh Ben-Naim is a professor emeritus at the Department of Physical Chemistry, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Born in Jerusalem, Israel. Studied and worked for his PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Post-Doctoral research in Stony-Brook University, NY, and Bell-Telephone Laboratories, NJ. Most of his research work was focused on the theory of water, aqueous solutions, solvation thermodynamics, and the role of water in biochemical processes. He is the author of over 200 articles and 35 books. Recently the author dedicated his time explaining and clarifying to the general public the most mysterious concept in physics: Entropy. He has published over 20 books and articles on Entropy and the Second Law, the most popular of which is Entropy Demystified, first published in 2006. He has written three books on Information Theory and its relation to Entropy and the Second Law. He had visited many universities around the world, where he lectured on all the topics of his research and interest. Claude Dufour, born in Brussels in 1950, took an early interest in heat engines. His thesis on the irreversibility of dense gases at MONS University highlighted the link between the subadditivity of entropy and its tendency to increase. From 1982 to 2009, he taught physics and mathematics. One of his proudest achievements has been to enable the weakest students to succeed while maintaining a high standard, thanks to accessible explanations and the requirement of sustained hard work. Retired since 2009, his goal is to publish the main results of his doctoral research in simple terms. His application of information theory not only to entropy but also to correlations provides a simple and innovative explanation of the second law of thermodynamics....

Sommaire:
Introduction and Caveats.- Intermolecular interactions, correlations, and Mutual Information.- Application of Multivariate Mutual Information to study spin systems.- Entropy of Mixing and Entropy of Assimilation, an Informational Theoretical Approach.- Information transmission between molecules in binding systems.- Calculations of the best-guess probability distribution using Shannon's Measure of Information.