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Physics 576: Introduction To Solid State Physics Spring 2016

This document provides information about a Physics 576 course on Introduction to Solid State Physics being offered in Spring 2016. It outlines topics that will be covered over the 15-week semester, including solids without microscopic structure, toy models of solids, crystal lattices, band theory, interacting electron gases, and more. Assessment will consist of homework assignments, a midterm exam, and a final paper and presentation. The goal is to not only cover these topics but also hone students' paper reading skills.

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Ronal Flavio H
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41 views

Physics 576: Introduction To Solid State Physics Spring 2016

This document provides information about a Physics 576 course on Introduction to Solid State Physics being offered in Spring 2016. It outlines topics that will be covered over the 15-week semester, including solids without microscopic structure, toy models of solids, crystal lattices, band theory, interacting electron gases, and more. Assessment will consist of homework assignments, a midterm exam, and a final paper and presentation. The goal is to not only cover these topics but also hone students' paper reading skills.

Uploaded by

Ronal Flavio H
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Physics 576: Introduction to Solid State Physics


Spring 2016
General Information
Course Time and Place: Tues./Thurs. 2:00-3:20 PM in PB105
Instructor: Dr./Prof. Schwarz
Office: PB229A
Cell Phone: 607-342-0876
E-mail: [email protected]
Course Webpage: http://jmschwarztheorygroup.org/phy576
Office Hours: Tuesdays/Thursdays 1:00AM-2:00PM or by appointment

Course Objectives
Presumably at age 8, your teacher asked you “Why does matter matter?” and then went on to say
that trees, air, and water are all matter, different states of matter, mind you, and then proceeded
to talk about the properties of solids, liquids, and gases. A more ambitious teacher might even go
on to talk about plasmas. And then they would say that as one adds energy to solid matter, it can
go from a solid to a liquid to a gas to a plasma. Of course, you being a physicist-in-training know
now that the story of the states of matter is a little more intricate than just solids, liquids, gases,
and plasmas. You have heard about Bose-Einstein condensates and quark-gluon plasmas and
Jahn-Teller metals (whose discovery was just reported back in May 2015 so if you have not heard of
such a state, don’t worry). Given the title of this course, it is relatively clear that we will focus on
solids and address why some solids conduct and others do not and why some solids superconduct
and others do not. We will also investigate some intriguing properties of disordered, or
non-crystalline, solids and how electrons interacting in one dimension can be described as bosons.
Here is a detailing of the topics to be covered (in the order they will be covered):
(1) Solids without considering microscopic structure (Drude theory of metals and Sommerfeld
theory of metals)
(2) Toy models of solids in one dimension (vibrational modes, tight-binding model)
(3) The geometry of solids (lattices, reciprocal lattices)
(4) Solids now considering the microstructure (Bloch’s theorem, band theory, conductors,
insulators, semiconductors)
(5) Interacting electron gas and Fermi liquid theory
(6) Interacting electrons in one dimension and bosonization
(7) The Kondo problem and local magnetic moment formation in metals
(8) Superconductivity
(9) Localization and disorder-driven metal-insulator transitions
(10) Disordered solids
(11) Glasses—solid or liquid?
(12) The future of solid state and quantum computation
Since there are 15 weeks in the semester (excluding Spring Break week), most of the topics will
take about a week to cover. The first objective of this course is to obviously learn about the above
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topics. However, I have another objective in mind. I would like each of us to hone our
paper-reading skills. As some of you may know by now, doing research in physics does not
necessarily mean sitting down and reading a textbook, and then cranking out a new calculation as
a result (some times it does, though). Rather, most research stems from recently published work,
which is not in the textbooks. Therefore, one must be able to read and digest and perhaps
reproduce the work presented in these recent publications. Good paper-reading skills certainly help
in conducting research. So, we will be looking at some original papers throughout the course, some
of which are Nobel Prize-winning ones.
Finally, while the course will focus mostly on the theory (since I am a theorist), we will also discuss
applications of the theory. After all, solid state physics has been extremely useful for humanity in
the form of computers, IPhones, and many other devices we take for granted.

Textbooks
While there is no required textbook for the course, I will be pulling material from several places,
including The Oxford Solid State Basics by Steve Simon (Oxford University Press 2013), Advanced
Solid State Physics by Philip Phillips (Cambridge University Press, 2012), and various papers. I
will make this material available to you as we proceed.
In addition to the Simon and Phillips books, there are a number of books out there on solid state
physics with Solid State Physics by N. Ashcroft and N. D. Mermin (Holt-Saunders, 1976) and
Introduction to Solid State Physics, 8th Edition by C. Kittel (Wiley, 2005) being classics in the
field, though both are a bit out of date in terms of more recent developments.

Prerequisites
I will presume that everyone knows a bit of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and quantum
mechanics. In any event, if there are terms that I causally invoke and you do not understand or
have not heard before, please stop me and ask. I will try to make the course as self-contained as
possible.

Assessment
Homework: There will be homework sets assigned during the course. I will not specify a number at
this point other than stating that there will be approximately an assignment a week.
Mid-term exam: There will be a mid-term exam that will be open notes, but not open book.
Final paper and presentation: Given the some of the intracacies of the latter topics in the course,
in place of a final exam, there will be a final presentation and accompanying write-up on a paper
that we both agree on.
Combining these three components with class participation, which I consider to be important, here
is the breakdown of how you will assessed on your performance in the class:
Homework: 45 percent
Mid-term exam: 15 percent
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Final paper/presentation: 30 percent


Class participation: 10 percent

A Note About Working with Friends and Academic Integrity


Students are encouraged to discuss the course content with each other. However, when it comes time
to complete your homework assignment, the final work you turn in must be your own. You
should never copy anybody else’s work, or even paraphrase it. Copying is against school policy and
can ultimately result in expulsion. If you have not read over SU’s academic integrity policy, it can
be found online at http://supolicies.syr.edu/ethics/acad integrity.htm. Enough said about that!

Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities


Students who are in need of disability-related academic accommodations must register with the Of-
fice of Disability Services (ODS), 804 University Avenue, Room 309, 315-443-4498. Students with
authorized disability-related accommodations should provide a current Accommodation Authoriza-
tion Letter from ODS to me (Dr. Schwarz) and we will review those accommodations together.
Accommodations, such as exam administration, are not provided retroactively; therefore, planning
for accommodations as early as possible is necessary. Please go to http://disabilityservices.syr.edu
for further information.

New Religious Observance Policy


SU’s religious observances policy, found at
http://supolicies.syr.edu/emp ben/religious observance.htm, recognizes the diversity of faiths
represented among the campus community and protects the rights of students, faculty, and staff to
observe religious holy days according to their tradition. Under the policy, students are provided an
opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirements that may be missed due to
a religious observance provided they notify their instructors before the end of the second week of
classes. For fall and spring semesters, an online notification process is available through
MySlice/Student Services/Enrollment/My Religious Observances from the first day of class until
the end of the second week of class.
Once I am notified of each student’s religious observances for the semester, I will discuss with each
of you individually revised due dates for assignments, etc.

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