Graduate Courses
Graduate Courses
Course Descriptions
Physics 205: Classical Mechanics (4 units) Fall
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing in Physics.
The Lagrangian formulation, calculus of variations, Hamilton's principle, conservation
principles and symmetry properties, the two-body central force problem, the Kepler problem,
scattering, orthogonal transformation, rigid body motion, the inertia tensor, Euler's equations.
Hamiltonian formulation and canonical transformations.
Physics 208: General Relativity (4 units)
Winter
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Physics 205
Tensors, covariant derivative, the Riemann curvature tensor and Einstein's equation. The
Schwarzchild metric and applications to the solar system and black holes. Gravity waves and
expanding universe.
Physics 209A: Quantum Electronics (4 units)
Winter
Lecture: Four-and-one-half Hours
Prerequisite(s): Physics 134B, 135A-135B,156A; or consent of instructor
Quantum theory of light and interaction of light with atoms. Density matrix
formulation of atomic susceptibility. Propagation of light in matter and
optical waveguides. Optical resonators. Theory and operation of common lasers.
Letter grades will be assigned to students whose research is related to
atomic, molecular, and optical physics. Other students will receive either a letter
or
Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 209B: Nonlinear Optics (4 units)
Spring
Lecture: Four-and-one-half Hours
Prerequisite(s): Physics 209A or consent of instructor.
Wave propagation in nonlinear media. Electro-optic effect, three- and
four-wave mixing, high-resolution nonlinear spectroscopies, rare atom and
molecule detection, laser manipulation of particles, high-intensity laser
physics, laser-plasma interactions.
Letter grades will be assigned to students whose research is related to
atomic, molecular, and optical physics. Other students will receive either a
letter or Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 210A: Electromagnetic Theory (4 units)
Winter
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing, consent of instructor
Electrostatics, Coulomb potential, method of images, Laplace's equations in
Cartesian, spherical and cylindrical coordinates, magnetostatics, boundary value
problems, multipoles, and dielectric media.
Physics 210B: Electromagnetic Theory (4 units)
Spring
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Physics 210A, graduate standing, consent of instructor
Electrodynamics, Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, special theory of relativity, tensor analysis, radiation, interaction of electromagnetic fields with charged particles, Lagrangian formulation, gauge transformation, and magnetic monopoles.
Physics 211A: Radiative Processes in Astrophysics (4 units) Fall
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Physics 135A-135B-135C and 156A-156B
Radiative transfer of continuum and line radiation, Einstein coefficients, photoionization
equilibria, radiation by free electrons, bremsstrahlung and synchrotron emission, Compton
and inverse Compton scattering, wave propagation through magnetized plasmas, atomic fine
structure, and molecular hyperfine lines. Letter grades are assigned to students whose
research is related to astrophysics. Other students receive either a letter or Satisfactory (S)
or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 211B: Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics (4 units) Fall
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Physics 135A-135B-135C and 156A-156B
Hydrodynamics, sound waves, turbulence, supersonic turbulence, magnetohydrodynamics,
Alfven waves, extragalactic relativistic jets, supersonic jets, galactic spiral structure and
density-wave theory, accretion disk theory, Balbus-Hawley instability, and stellar winds. Letter
grades are assigned to students whose research is related to astrophysics. Other students receive
either a letter or a Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 212A: Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (4 units) Fall
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing, consent of instructor
Thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, ideal Bose systems, ideal Fermi systems,
and bulk motion.
Physics 212B: Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (4 units) Winter
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): PHY 212A, graduate standing, consent of instructor
Functional integrals, approximation techniques, introduction to phase
transitions, and the renormalization group.
Physics 221A: Quantum Mechanics (4 units)
Winter
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing, consent of instructor
A study of the fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics including wave
functions and the uncertainty relations. Also covers time dependence of quantum
systems such as the simple harmonic oscillator and simple two level systems.
Physics 221B: Quantum Mechanics (4 units)
Spring
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 221A, graduate standing, consent of instructor
Covers angular momentum and approximation methods, including perturbation
theory.
Physics 221C: Quantum Mechanics (4 units) Year
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 221A, PHYS 221B, graduate standing, consent of instructor
Covers symmetries in quantum mechanics, identical particles, and scattering theory.
Physics 225A: Elementary Particles (4 units) Fall
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Physics 221A-221B-221C or consent of instructor
Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), the Quark-Parton Model, and Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Also discusses experimental techniques for particle
detection and energy measurement. Students whose research is related to high
energy physics receive a letter grade; other students receive a letter grade or
Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 225B: Elementary Particles (4 units) Winter
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Physics 225A or consent of instructor
Covers advanced topics in particle physics such as the Standard model,
Charge-Parity (CP) violation and conservation laws, and mixing in the neural
strange and bottom meson systems. Students whose research is related to
high energy physics receive a letter grade; other students receive a letter
grade or Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 230A: Advanced Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Theory of Fields
(4 units) Fall
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 221A, PHYS 221B, PHYS 221C, or consent of instructor
Topics include quantization of fields for particles with spins 0, 1/2, and 1; path integrals; Feynman diagrams; and scattering amplitudes and cross sections. Students whose research is related to quantum mechanics receive a letter grade; other students receive a letter grade or Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 230B: Advanced Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Theory of Fields
(4 units) Winter
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 230A or consent of instructor
Explores renormalization of quantum field theory, gauge invariance, spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetry, Quantum Chromodynamics, and electroweak interactions. Students whose research is related to quantum mechanics receive a letter grade; other students receive a letter grade or Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 231: Methods of Theoretical Physics (4
units) Fall
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of instructor
A study of analytic functions, Cauchy's theorem, Taylor series, Laurent series expansions, the residue theorem, and analytic continuation.
Physics 240A: Condensed Matter Physics (4 units) Fall
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of instructor
Topics include classical and quantum theory of electron gas, crystal and reciprocal lattices, X-ray diffraction, crystal symmetries, Bloch's theorem, nearly free electrons, tight bounding, semiclassical dynamics and transport, measuring the Femi surface, and band structure. Students whose research is related to condensed matter physics receive a letter grade; other students receive a letter grade or Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 240B: Condensed Matter Physics (4 units) Winter
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 240A or consent of instructor
Topics include electron-electron interactions, surface effects, classification of solids, cohesive energy, classical and quantum harmonic crystals, measurement of phonons, phonons in metals, dielectric properties, homogenous and inhomogenous semiconductors, defects, diamagnetism, paramagnetism, magnetic interactions and ordering, and superconductivity. Students whose research is related to condensed matter physics receive a letter grade; other students receive a letter grade or Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 240C: Solid State Physics (4 units) Spring
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 240B or consent of instructor
Topics include methods of field quantization, propagators and Green's function, linear response theory, the Kubo formula, the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, finite temperature Green's functions, Matsubara techniques, applications to the free electron gas, Gor'kov Green's functions in superconductivity, and the Hubbard model. Students whose research is related to condensed matter physics receive a letter grade; other students receive a letter grade or Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade.
Physics 242: Physics at Surfaces and Interfaces
(4 units) Fall
Lecture: Three Hours
Consultation: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Overview of surface science, electronic and geometric structure of clean surfaces, techniques
for investigating structure, electron spectroscopy of surfaces, adsorption on surfaces, vibrations
on surfaces, and epitaxial growth and applications of surface science.
Physics 253E-Z: Special Topics (3 units)
Offered occasionally as need and demand warrant to discuss such subjects as
magnetohydrodynamics, astrophysics, high-energy physics, etc.
Physics 260: Selected Topics in Theoretical High Energy Physics
(2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
The physics of the Standard Model and its extensions. Anomalies, spontaneous symmetry
breaking, and phenomeology. The cosmological effect of new particles.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 261: Theory of Strongly Correlated Low-Temperature Systems (2
units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of instructor
Topics include quantum transport with disorder and interactions, quantum effect, high temperature superconductivity, and low-dimensional systems. Course is repeatable.
Physics 263: Four-Fermion Interaction and the Higgs Particle
(2 units) Year
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of instructor
Four-fermion interaction as originally applied in weak interactions. Renormalization questions.
The recent superconductivity type models for the origin of the Higgs boson and the masses of
the elementary particles. Course is repeatable.
Physics 266: Theoretical Aspects of Fundamental Particle
Interactions (2 units) Year
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Electroweak symmetry breaking and the origin of mass. Conservation laws and physics
beyond the standard model. New theoretical ideas and their possible applications.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 267: Hadron Physics at Electron-Positron Colliders
(2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Phenomenology of hadron production in electron-positron collisions. Experimental results
and techniques to investigate quark and gluon properties and confinement. Tests of perturbative
Quantum Chromodynamics. Models of hadron production.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 270: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (2
units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Theory of nuclear magnetic resonance and relaxation as a probe into the structure of
materials. Nuclear spin dynamics in solids and liquids. Applications to low-temperature phenomena,
particularly to the study of metals and superconductors. Experimental techniques in nuclear
resonance. Course is repeatable.
Physics 271: Heavy Ion Physics (2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Heavy ion collisions at high energies. Survey of experimental data and study of theoretical
expectations for the production of the quark-gluon plasma.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 272: Deep Inelastic Scattering and Strong Interactions
(2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
A systematic study of deep inelastic scattering processes and strong interactions. Discussion
of experiments with particular emphasis on nuclear structure, intermediate vector boson
production, and the search for new particles. Course is repeatable.
Physics 273: Experimental Tests of Electroweak Physics
(2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Current and planned precision measurements in the standard electroweak model.
Electromagnetic and week production and decays of quarks, leptons, and bosons. Emphasis
on experimental techniques and comparisons of data.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 275: Experimental Physics of Electromagnetic and Weak
Interactions (2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
A systematic study of electromagnetic and weak interactions. Discussion of experiments with
particular bearings on symmetry principle violations, selection rules, and higher symmetries.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 268: Electroweak Physics at
Electron-Positron Colliders (2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
The study of the electroweak interaction at high-energy e+e colliders. Covers properties of the Z and W bosons. Emphasis is placed on the high precision tests of the Standard Model. Includes comparisons with similar tests in other reactions. Course is repeatable.
Physics 274: Experimental Relativistic Nucleon-Nucleon Collisions (2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Survey of experimental methods used by current relativistic nucleon-nucleon collision detectors at Brookhaven National Laboratory and CERN. Course is repeatable.
Physics 278: Surface Sciences (2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Geometrical and electronic structure at surfaces and interfaces. Chemical reactions on
surfaces. Interactions of radiation with surfaces. Mechanisms of film growth on surfaces.
Development of novel surface science analytical techniques.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 279: Astrophysics (2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Measurements of gamma rays from pulsars and other cosmic sources. Measurements of
gamma rays and neutrons from the sun. Laboratory magnetosphere and comet experiments.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 281: Theoretical Topics in Condensed Matter Physics
(2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Theoretical approaches to topics in condensed matter physics including the
Hubbard, Kondo, and Anderson models. Studies relating to bosonization, large
N, large S, and other techniques.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 282: Experimental Investigations of Strongly Correlated
Materials (2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Examinations of thermodynamic and transport properties in strongly-correlated materials
which often exhibit unusual broken-symmetry ground states. Measurements of specific heat,
resistivity, magnetoresistivity, thermopower, and Hall effect of existing and previously uncharacterized
compounds.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 283: Techniques of Microscopy (2 units) Year
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Current techniques of microscopy. Covers optical and electron microscopy, and
novel techniques of scanning microscopy such as scanning tunneling microscopy,
near-field scanning optical microscopy, and atomic force microscopy.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 284: Optical Techniques for Measurements in Physics
(2-2-2 units)
Year
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Current topics in optical physics and the use of optical and nonlinear optical techniques to
make measurements of interest in atomic, molecular, chemical, and condensed matter physics.
Emphasizes advances in science enabled by advances in laser technology.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 285: Experimental Techniques in Particle Physics
(2 units)
Seminar: Two Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Review of experimental techniques used in particle physics experiments, including tracking,
calorimetry, and muon detection. Analysis of experiments at future super-colliders and their
physics capabilities, focusing on the searches for the Higgs, top quark physics, and
supersymmetric particles.
Course is repeatable.
Physics 289: Colloquium in Physics (1 unit) Fall, Winter, Spring
Seminar: One Hour
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Specialized discussions by staff, students and visiting scientists on current research topics in
physics. The course can be repeated.
Physics 290: Special Studies (1-6 units) Fall,
Winter, Spring
Outside Research: Three to Eighteen Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Studies on specially selected topics under direction of a member of the faculty.
Physics 291: Individual Studies in Coordinated Areas
(1-6 units) Fall, Winter, Spring
Individual Study: Three to Eighteen Hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Faculty assisted programs of individual study for candidates who are preparing for
examinations.
The following rules apply:
Physics 297: Directed Research (1-6 units) Fall, Winter, Spring
Outside Research: Three to eighteen hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Original Research in an area selected for the advanced degree, performed under
the direction of a faculty member. Course is repeatable.
Physics 299: Research for Thesis or Dissertation (1-12 units) Fall,
Winter, Spring
Thesis: Three to thirty-six hours
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor
Original Research in an area selected for the advanced degree, performed under
the direction of a faculty member. This research is to be included as part of
the dissertation. Course is repeatable.
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