Physics 507 B: Solid State Physics II, Spring 2011

Professor

Rogério de Sousa

Lectures

Tuesdays 1:30 - 2:50 pm, Elliott 161

Thursdays 1:00 - 2:20 pm, CLE C316 (Clearihue building)

Office hours

My office is located at Elliott 117. You are welcome to see me anytime the door is open.

Textbooks

This course is the continuation of P507A, Solid State Physics I. The core of the course is given by Chapters 6-11 of

D.W. Snoke, "Solid State Physics: Essential Concepts" (Addison-Wesley, San Francisco, USA 2009).

This textbook will be complemented by other books:

M. Tinkham, "Group theory and quantum mechanics" and H. Georgi, "Lie Algebras in Particle Physics" for the first part of the course.

C. Kittel, "Quantum Theory of Solids" (Wiley, New York, USA 1963; Second Revised Printing 1987), for selected topics thoughout the course.

M. Tinkham, "Introduction to Superconductivity", for the last section of the course.

Other suggested books

C. Kittel, "Introduction to Solid State Physics" (Wiley, New York, USA 8th Ed. 2000).
Introductory textbook -- Should be used whenever any concept discussed in the advanced book is not clear.

N.W. Ashcroft and N.D. Mermin, "Solid State Physics" (Saunders College, USA 1976).
The classical point of view. Starting from metals, establishes the basic theory of electrons and phonons in crystals. Several illustrative examples of real materials.

M.P. Marder, "Condensed Matter Physics" (2nd edition, Wiley, USA 2010).
Quite modern and well organized, with a focus on phenomenology (The author "modernized" Ashcroft and Mermin in my opinion).
Good description of electron-electron interaction and of mechanical properties of solids.

P.M. Chaikin and T.C. Lubensky, "Principles of Condensed Matter Physics" (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. 1995).
The modern point of view. Establishes the general framework for describing the phases of matter, based on symmetries and conservation laws.

J.M. Ziman, "Principles of the Theory of Solids" (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge U.K. 1972).
Elegantly written, excellent chapter on transport properties.

E.M. Lifshitz and L.P. Pitaevskii, "Statistical Physics Part 2", Vol. 9 of Landau and Lifshitz's Course of Theoretical Physics (Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford U.K. 1980).
Great description of Fermi liquid theory, and of the phenomenological (Landau) theory of magnetism.

Grading Scheme

Half of the grade will be based on 5 Assignments (10% each), which will be posted online in this website.
The other half of the grade will be based on a final course presentation given by each student.

Final course presentation

There are three options for the final presentation: Students should present either (1) A recent paper from the literature; (2) A classic paper from the literature, describing a groundbreaking discovery; (3) A review paper or a book chapter, describing an important topic not covered in class. Note that the deadline for choosing the paper or topic is February 11th. Students are welcome to discuss possibilities with me, and I am glad to suggest papers or topics.

How to succeed

Attend Lectures and ask questions;
Read and think about the textbook;
Do assignments. If you can't solve a problem, talk to your classmates, or come to see me.
However, it is extremely important that you attempt to solve the problem by yourself first.

Experience shows that only students who spend a couple of hours thinking about the problem set will master the basic concepts. You will absorb very little material by just attending lectures.

Start thinking about your project as early as possible.

Preliminary Schedule

Month	Date	Day	Description	Homework
Jan	6	R	No class
	11	T	Ch. 6: Introduction to Group theory	HMW 1 out
	13	R	"
	18	T	"
	20	R	Applications to Quantum Mechanics in general
	25	T	Applications to Quantum Chemistry
	27	R	Applications to Semiconductor Physics
Feb	1	T	"
	3	R	Applications to Magnetism
	8	T	"	HMW 1 in, HMW 2 out
	10	R	Ch. 7: Optical properties, complex susceptibility
	15	T	Quantum theory of the dielectric susceptibility
	17	R	Polaritons	HMW 2 in, HMW 3 out
	22	T	Reading Break
	24	R	Reading Break
Mar	1	T	Non-linear optics
	3	R	Ch. 9: Coherence and correlation	Deadline for Project Choice
	8	T	Derivation of Bloch-Wangsness-Redfield theory
	10	R	Magnetic resonance	HMW 3 in, HMW 4 out
	15	T	Fluctuation-dissipation theorem
	17	R	Mesoscopic physics
	22	T	No Class (March meeting)	Work on the project!
	24	R	No Class (March meeting)	Work on the project!
	29	T	Ch. 10: Magnetism	HMW 4 in, HMW 5 out
	31	R	"
Apr	5	T	"
	7	R	"
	12	T	"
	14	R	Final Presentation 1, 2	HMW 5 in