PH 520 Group Theory Methods (Autumn 2017-18)
Instructor name: Urjit Yajnik
Course Type: Honours / Elective
Pre-requisites: None
Course Content: Discrete Groups - Algebraic concepts, Essentials of group structure, Representations and main theorems, Application to chemistry and SSP. Continuous groups - Lie theory, structure constants, Geometric and classical groups (Weyl; Wigner), SO(N), SU(N), Lorentz Group, Group theory in Particle Physics and beyond.
Books:
Discrete groups: lecture slides and notes provided by the instructor are enough.
Continuous groups: Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Representations: An Elementary Introduction (Brian C. Hall), Lie groups and Lie algebras for physicists (Ashok Das, Susumo Okubo), Groups and Symmetries (Yvette Kosmann-Schwarzbach)
Lectures: Combination of handwritten slides and powerpoint slides, no strict attendance policy
Assignments: Tutorials were mostly easy to moderate, none of them was graded.
Exams and Grading: 2 quizzes (10% each), midsem (30%), endsem (40%). Exams were mostly easy. grading was quite generous.
Online Resources:
http://www.cmth.ph.ic.ac.uk/people/d.vvedensky/courses.html
http://w0.rz-berlin.mpg.de/imprs-cs/download/symmetry2011_1_K_Horn.pdf
http://web.mit.edu/course/6/6.734j/www/group-full02.pdf
Personal Comments: The course is extremely superficial in terms of the content as well as the level of rigour employed. Although the latter can be excused in a physics-oriented group theory course, the applications were also not satisfactorily explored. Don't expect to get anything but a very basic introduction to group theory and its applications. The major takeaway from the course is probably some of the representation theory techniques, which finds direct application in some aspects of solid state physics and chemistry.
Respondent: Arkya Chatterjee
Note: This is a review to help you make a more informed choice about how to study for this course and/or choosing this course. While we've tried to keep it objective and complete, one must keep in mind that students have varying interests, methods of study, and the course itself changes from year to year.
Course Type: Honours / Elective
Pre-requisites: None
Course Content: Discrete Groups - Algebraic concepts, Essentials of group structure, Representations and main theorems, Application to chemistry and SSP. Continuous groups - Lie theory, structure constants, Geometric and classical groups (Weyl; Wigner), SO(N), SU(N), Lorentz Group, Group theory in Particle Physics and beyond.
Books:
Discrete groups: lecture slides and notes provided by the instructor are enough.
Continuous groups: Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Representations: An Elementary Introduction (Brian C. Hall), Lie groups and Lie algebras for physicists (Ashok Das, Susumo Okubo), Groups and Symmetries (Yvette Kosmann-Schwarzbach)
Lectures: Combination of handwritten slides and powerpoint slides, no strict attendance policy
Assignments: Tutorials were mostly easy to moderate, none of them was graded.
Exams and Grading: 2 quizzes (10% each), midsem (30%), endsem (40%). Exams were mostly easy. grading was quite generous.
Online Resources:
http://www.cmth.ph.ic.ac.uk/people/d.vvedensky/courses.html
http://w0.rz-berlin.mpg.de/imprs-cs/download/symmetry2011_1_K_Horn.pdf
http://web.mit.edu/course/6/6.734j/www/group-full02.pdf
Personal Comments: The course is extremely superficial in terms of the content as well as the level of rigour employed. Although the latter can be excused in a physics-oriented group theory course, the applications were also not satisfactorily explored. Don't expect to get anything but a very basic introduction to group theory and its applications. The major takeaway from the course is probably some of the representation theory techniques, which finds direct application in some aspects of solid state physics and chemistry.
Respondent: Arkya Chatterjee
Note: This is a review to help you make a more informed choice about how to study for this course and/or choosing this course. While we've tried to keep it objective and complete, one must keep in mind that students have varying interests, methods of study, and the course itself changes from year to year.
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