PH 522 Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics (Spring 2017-18)

PH 522 Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics (Spring 2017-18)

Review 1:
Instructor name: Soumya Bera

Course Type: Honours / Elective

Pre-requisites: Informal: Quantum Mechanics 2, Introduction to CMP (can be done simultaneously with this course)

Course content: Recap of Drude model, second quantization for fermions and bosons, applications of second quantization to electron gas (jellium model), mean field theory techniques, Wick's theorem, Hartree-Fock approximation, Green's functions in many-body theory, magnetism from Coulomb interactions, Hubbard model, Stoner model, Heisenberg model, Superconductivity (introduction to BCS theory)

Books: Many-body quantum theory in condensed matter physics (Bruus and Flensberg), Quantum Theory of Many-Particle Systems (Fetter and Waleck), Quantum Field Theory for the Gifted Amateur (Lancaster and Blundell), Advanced Quantum Mechanics (Nazarov and Danon), Lecture notes on electron correlation and magnetism (Patrik Fazekas)

Lecture: Blackboard lectures, no attendance

Assignments: 4 ungraded tutorials in all - moderate to difficult

Exams and Grading: 1 quiz (15%), midsem (30%), endsem (40%), seminar presentation (15%)
Pro-Tips: The lectures are very calculation-intensive, do put in extra effort to stay focused in class because it's very easy to lose the track of discussion.

Respondent: Arkya Chatterjee

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Review 2:
Instructor Name: Soumya Bera

Course Type: Honours / Elective

Prerequisites: Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics, QM II

Course Content: Second Quantization of fermions and bosons, canonical transformations, Wick's theorem,  Second quantization applications (Ex: Bose-Einstein Condensate), Green's function, Hubbard Model, Magnetism (Stoner model, exchange interaction), Superconductivity (very basics of BCS theory) 

Books: Many-Body Quantum Theory by Bruus and Flensburg, A Quantum Approach to Condensed Matter Physics by Taylor and Heinonen

Lectures: Lectures (All blackboard), Good quality, takes doubts, explains patiently

Assignments: Assignments given regularly (ungraded), Difficulty level: Moderate to difficult (quite a lot of topics), lenient grading

Exams and Grading: 10% Quiz 1, 30% Midsem, 20% seminar presentation (on a topic of your choice among a list of broad topics), 40 % endsem

Pro-Tips: Second Quantization is the backbone of the course, understand it properly and the rest of the course should be a breeze. Green's function and Superconductivity are not covered that well, but they weren't asked in the exams. 

Personal Comments: It's probably the most advanced condensed matter course in the institute and is worth taking by anyone, even if you are interested in high energy physics, because it covers a lot of things (like Wick's theorem, canonical transformation, Green's function) that would be useful for anyone aspiring to be a theoretical physicist. In a limited time, a lot can be learned from this course. Seminar presentations are great to get to know a topic by yourself and use some topics learned in class. 

Respondent: Vaibhav Sharma

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.