Bulbul Chakraborty

This chapter introduces tools from statistical mechanics that are useful for analyzing the behavior of static and slowly driven granular media. (For fast dynamics, refer to the previous chapter on Kinetic Theory by Jenkins.) These tools encompass techniques used to predict emergent properties from microscopic laws, which are the analogs of calculations in equilibrium statistical mechanics based on the concept of statistical ensembles and stochastic dynamics. Included, for example, are the Edwards approach to static granular media, and coarse-grained models of granular rheology. The discussion will focus on a set of generic tools that can be honed to study particular problems.