Investigation of one or more topics of interest with the guidance of an instructor. Presentation of a research proposal at the end of the term.

Investigation of one or more topics of interest with the guidance of an instructor. Presentation of a research proposal at the end of the term.

Wave function; solutions of the Schödinger's equation; infinite square well; harmonic oscillator; potential barrier; formalism of quantum mechanics; statistical interpretation; hydrogen atom problem; angular momentum; spin; identical particle systems; many-electron atoms; solids; quantum statistics.

Time-independent perturbation theory; fine structure of the hydrogen spectrum; variational approximation; helium atom; WKB quantization; time-dependent perturbation theory; two-level systems; emission and absorbtion; adiabatic approximation; geometric phase.

Elementary crystal structure; the reciprocal lattice; lattice dynamics and phonons; thermal properties of materials; electron gas; Fermi-Dirac statistics and the Fermi surface; band theory, semiconductor physics and properties, semiconductor devices.

Selected experiments in physics. Single component and integrated solid state electronic device characteristics and applications in electronic circuits. Use of coherent and incoherent electromagnetic waves in modern physics experiments and contemporary technology applications with transmission, absorption, diffraction, and spectroscopic measurements. Laboratory technique, data recording and analysis, communication of results through written and oral reports.

Introduction of statistical mechanical concepts; statistical thermodynamics; structure dependent properties of condensed matter; dielectric and magnetic properties; chemical equilibrium conditions; transport phenomena; normal mode analysis; structure and energy minimizations; classical and quantum numerical molecular simulation methods; superconductivity; superfluidity.

Propagation and focusing of optical fields; spatial resolution and position accuracy; techniques used for nanoscale optical microscopy; light emission and optical interactions in nanoscale environments; quantum emitters; quantum photonics; dipole emission near planar interfaces; optical resonators; surface plasmons; forces in confined fields; fluctuation-induced interactions.

Fundamentals of optics and applications are discussed. Topics covered are photon and wave nature of light; reflection and refraction laws and geometrical optics; optical instruments (camera, eye, telescope, microscope); waves; interference and interferometers; fiber optics; diffraction and Fourier optics, gratings and micro-optical elements; polarization and applications, display technologies. The course is supplemented with in-class demonstrations and examples from everyday optics phenomena such as color of the sky and rainbows. A course in electromagnetic theory is helpful but not required.

Basic principles, techniques, and instruments used in biomedical optical research. Scattering, absorption, fluorescence and polarization, and how these properties can be utilized in biomedical diagnostics and imaging. Modelling of light-tissue interactions. Ballistic imaging and microscopy. Optical coherence tomography. Optical biosensors.

Detailed examination of current topics in Physics.

Detailed examination of current topics in Physics.

Work on the research proposal resulting from PHYS 390 with the guidance of an instructor, culminating in a research paper suitable for presentation or publication.

Available to students with a GPA equal to or greater than 3.00 and with consent of the instructor.

Work on the research proposal resulting from PHYS 390 with the guidance of an instructor, culminating in a research paper suitable for presentation or publication.

Variational principles.Lagrange?s equations. 2-body central force problems. Kinematics of rigid body motion. Rigid body equations of motion. Hamilton?s equations. Canonical transformations. Hamilton-Jacobi theory. Small oscillations.

Boundary-value problems in electrostatics and magnetostatics. Maxwell's equations. Conservation laws. Electromagnetic waves and wave propagation in different media. Waveguides and resonant cavities. Radiating systems.

Spin. Complex vector spaces. Quantum dynamics. Bound state perturbation theory. Time dependent perturbation theory. Identical particle systems.

Rotations and angular momentum. Discrete symmetry operations. WKB approximation.

Selected experiments in physics. Single component and integrated solid state electronic device characteristics and applications in electronic circuits. Use of coherent and incoherent electromagnetic waves in modern physics experiments and contemporary technology applications with transmission, absorption, diffraction, and spectroscopic measurements. Laboratory technique, data recording and analysis, communication of results through written and oral reports.

Phase diagrams. Critical phenomena and universal scaling. Mean field and Landau theories. Kadanoff scaling theory. Position space and momentum space renormalization. Chaotic renormalization groups and spin-glass order. Quenched disordered and frustrated systems. Phase diagrams of quantum spin and electronic conductivity models.