AST 301 / PHY 321

General Relativity

Professor/Instructor

John Jeremy Goodman

This is an introductory course in general relativity for undergraduates. Topics include the early universe, black holes, cosmic strings, worm holes, and time travel. Designed for science and engineering majors. Two 90-minute lectures. Prerequisites: MAT 201 and 202, OR MAT 203 and 204. Also PHY 205 or 207. PHY 304 is recommended.

GEO 371 / PHY 371

Global Geophysics

Professor/Instructor

Frederik Jozef Simons

An introduction to the fundamental principles of global geophysics. Taught on the chalkboard, in four parts, the material builds up to form a final coherent picture of (how we know) the structure and evolution of the solid Earth: gravity, magnetism, seismology, and geodynamics. The emphasis is on physical principles including the mathematical derivation and solution of the governing equations. Prerequisites: MAT 201 or 203, PHY 103/104 or PHY 105/106. Two 90-minute lectures.

AST 401 / PHY 401

Cosmology

Professor/Instructor

Neta A. Bahcall

Topics include the properties and nature of galaxies, quasars, clusters, superclusters, the large-scale structure of the universe, dark matter, dark energy, the formation and evolution of galaxies and other structures, microwave background radiation, and the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to today. Two 90-minute lectures. Prerequisites: MAT 201, 202; PHY 207, 208. Designed for science and engineering majors.

AST 403 / PHY 402

Stars and Star Formation

Professor/Instructor

Eve Charis Ostriker

Stars form from the interstellar medium (ISM), and the nuclear fusion that powers stars is also the main energy source in the ISM. This course discusses the structure and evolution of the ISM and stars. Topics include: physical properties and methods for studying ionized, atomic, and molecular gas in the ISM; dynamics of magnetized gas flows and turbulence; gravitational collapse and star formation; structure of stellar interiors; radiation transport; production of energy by nucleosynthesis; stellar evolution and end states; effects of stars on interstellar environment. Prerequisites: MAT 201, 202; PHY 208, 301 or permission of instructor.

PHY 403 / MAT 493

Mathematical Methods of Physics

Professor/Instructor

Mathematical methods and techniques that are essential for modern theoretical physics. Topics such as group theory, Lie algebras, and differential geometry are discussed and applied to concrete physical problems. Special attention will be given to mathematical techniques that originated in physics, such as functional integration and current algebras. Three classes. Prerequisite: MAT 330 or instructor's permission.

PHY 405

Modern Physics I: Condensed-Matter Physics

Professor/Instructor

An introduction to modern condensed-matter physics, this course builds on quantum and statistical mechanics to study the electronic properties of solids, including band theory. Metals, quantum Hall effects, semiconductors, superconductors and magnetism, as well as phase transitions in condensed systems and structure and dynamic of solids and liquid crystals. Two 90-minute lectures. Prerequisites: PHY 208, PHY 301, and PHY 305.

PHY 406

Modern Physics II: Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics

Professor/Instructor

The basic features of nuclear and elementary particle physics are described and interpreted, primarily in the context of the "Standard Model." Problems of current interest are discussed. Two 90-minute lectures.

PHY 408

Modern Classical Dynamics

Professor/Instructor

The course discusses some of the most important and beautiful phenomena described by classical dynamics. This includes generalized Hamiltonian systems and variational principles, shock waves propagation, gravitational instabilities, simple solitons and vortices plus elementary exposition of the theories of turbulence and period doubling. Two 90-minute lectures. Prerequisite: PHY 205 or 207.

GEO 419 / PHY 419

Physics and Chemistry of Earth's Interior

Professor/Instructor

Thomas S. Duffy

The Earth is a physical system whose past and present state can be studied within the framework of physics and chemistry. Topics include current concepts of geophysics and the physics and chemistry of Earth materials; origin and evolution of the Earth; and nature of dynamic processes in its interior. One emphasis is to relate geologic processes on a macroscopic scale to the fundamental materials properties of minerals and rocks. Three lectures. Prerequisites: one year of college-level chemistry or physics (preferably both) and calculus. Offered alternately with 424.

GEO 442 / PHY 442

Geodynamics

Professor/Instructor

Allan Mattathias Rubin

An advanced introduction to setting up and solving boundary value problems relevant to the solid Earth sciences. Topics include heat flow, fluid flow, elasticity and plate flexure, and rock rheology, with applications to mantle convection, magma transport, lithospheric deformation, structural geology, and fault mechanics. Prerequisites: MAT 201 or 202. Two 90-minute lectures.

PHY 505

Quantum Mechanics

Professor/Instructor

The physical principles and mathematical formalism of non-relativistic quantum mechanics. The principles will be illustrated by selected applications to topics in atomic physics, particle physics and condensed matter.

PHY 506 / MSE 576

Advanced Quantum Mechanics

Professor/Instructor

David A. Huse

A one-term course in advanced quantum mechanics, following Physics 505. After a brief review of some fundamental topics (e.g., hydrogen atom, perturbation theory, scattering theory) more advanced topics will be covered, including many-body theory, operator theory, coherent states, stability of matter and other Coulomb systems and the theory of the Bose gas.

MAT 595 / PHY 508

Topics in Mathematical Physics

Professor/Instructor

Simone Warzel

The course covers current topics in Mathematical Physics. More specific topic details provided when the course is offered.

PHY 509

Quantum Field Theory

Professor/Instructor

Herman Louis Verlinde

Introduction to quantum field theory. Quantization of Klein-Gordon and Dirac fields. Interactions with Feynman diagrams. Elementary processes in quantum electrodynamics. Introduction to non-abelian gauge theory. Radiative corrections.

PHY 510

Advanced Quantum Field Theory

Professor/Instructor

Igor R. Klebanov

Advanced topics in Relativistic Quantum Theory: renormalization group, non-perturbative techniques (solitons, instantons), and quantum fields in curved space.

PHY 511

Statistical Mechanics

Professor/Instructor

Shinsei Ryu

The physical principles and mathematical formalism of statistical mechanics, with an emphasis on applications to thermodynamics, condensed matter physics, physical chemistry, and astrophysics are studied.

MSE 504 / CHM 560 / PHY 512 / CBE 520

Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics Simulation in Statistical Physics & Materials Science

Professor/Instructor

Roberto Car

This course examines methods for simulating matter at the molecular and electronic scale. Molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo and electronic structure methods will be covered with emphasis on hands-on experience in writing and/or exercising simulation codes for atomistic and electronic structure simulation.

PHY 521 / MAT 597

Introduction to Mathematical Physics

Professor/Instructor

Michael Aizenman

An introduction to mathematically rigorous methods in physics. Topics to be covered include classical and quantum statistical mechanic, quantum many-body problem, group theory, Schroedinger operators, and quantum information theory.

PHY 523

Introduction to Relativity

Professor/Instructor

Frans Pretorius

A modern introduction from scratch to the theory of gravity, with an emphasis on quantum effects, supersymmetry, strings, and black holes.

PHY 525

Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics

Professor/Instructor

Biao Lian

In the fall semester the course explores electronic structure of crystals, phonons, transport and magnetic properties, screening in metals, and superconductivity. In the spring semester the focus is on "soft" condensed matter physics, including fluids, polymers, liquid crystals, phase transitions, generalized elasticity, dislocations, dynamics and hydrodynamics.

PHY 529

High-Energy Physics

Professor/Instructor

Isobel Rose Ojalvo

An overview of modern elementary particle physics. The basic formalism is developed in the context of quantum electrodynamics (QED), then the principle of local gauge invariance is used to generalize this to the current "standard model" of the fundamental forces. The latter is then applied to a variety of physical cases. Specific topics include: weak decays, W and Z physics, deep inelastic scattering, CP violation, neutrino oscillations, and Higgs searches, with an emphasis on areas of current interest. The course also covers key concepts in accelerator and detector physics.

PHY 536 / MSE 577

Advanced Condensed Matter Physics II

Professor/Instructor

Frederick D. Haldane

Fermi liquids, Luttinger liquids, the quantum Hall effect, superconductivity, quantum magnetism, Kondo effect and localization.

PHY 539

Topics in High-Energy Physics

Professor/Instructor

Edward Witten

The large N expansion in gauge theories; quantization of closed and open strings; string perturbation theory and conformal field theory techniques; string effective actions; and large N matrix models and random surfaces.

PHY 540

Selected Topics in Theoretical High-Energy Physics

Professor/Instructor

Alexander M. Polyakov

Superstrings; low-energy effective actions; p-brane solutions in supergravity; Dirichlet branes; D-brane approach to black holes; the AdS/CFT correspondence.

CHM 510 / PHY 544

Topics in Physical Chemistry

Professor/Instructor

Salvatore Torquato, Roberto Car

Topics covered vary from year to year and are selected from the following: state-selected chemical processes; high-resolution spectroscopy; energy transfer and redistribution; laser-induced chemistry; surface chemistry; electronic properties of conjugated polymers; nonlinear optical materials; physical electrochemistry; heterogeneous reaction dynamics; spectroscopy and dynamics of clusters; and chaotic systems.