Physics

• CAS PY 405: Electromagnetic Fields and Waves I
  Vector analysis; Gauss's law; electric field intensity; energy and potential; conductors, dielectrics, and capacitance; Poisson's and Laplace's equations; steady magnetic fields;
• CAS PY 406: Electromagnetic Fields and Waves II
  Maxwell's equations; electromagnetic waves in vacuum and matter; reflection and refraction; diffraction and interference; coherence; special theory of relativity.
• CAS PY 408: Intermediate Mechanics
  Dynamics of particles and rigid bodies. Newtonian mechanics. Oscillatory motion and motion under a central force. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics. Coupled oscillations, normal modes, and continuum mechanics. Longitudinal and transverse mechanical waves.
• CAS PY 410: Statistical Thermodynamics
  The laws of themodynamics, statistical basis of thermodynamics, ensemble theory, equilibrium statistical mechanics and its application to physical systems of interest, irreversibility, transport, and the approach to equilibrium.
• CAS PY 421: Introduction to Computational Physics
  Undergraduate-level introduction to computer programming and methods used to formulate and solve physics problems on the computer. Also touches on more advanced topics such as parallel computing and graphical visualization.
• CAS PY 451: Quantum Physics I
  Uncertainty principle; Schrödinger wave equation and applications; operators; hermitian operators and unitary transformations; harmonic oscillator; angular momentum and spin; time dependence; magnetic resonance; parity and identity; helium atom and hydrogen molecule; exclusion principle; Fermi-Dirac statistics; Zeeman Effect.
• CAS PY 452: Quantum Physics II
  Uncertainty principle; Schrödinger wave equation and applications; operators; hermitian operators and unitary transformations; harmonic oscillator; angular momentum and spin; time dependence; magnetic resonance; parity and identity; helium atom and hydrogen molecule; exclusion principle; Fermi-Dirac statistics; Zeeman Effect.
• CAS PY 482: Undergraduate Physics Seminar
  Intended primarily for upper-level physics students but open to others with consent of the instructor. In-depth examination at an undergraduate level of an area of current physics research. Topics cover areas of contemporary interest and vary from year to year; possible areas include general relativity, particle physics, biophysics, and superconductivity. (CAS PY 482 may be taken multiple times for credit.)
• CAS PY 491: Directed Study or Research in Physics
  Intensive study of one aspect of physics under the supervision of a faculty member.
• CAS PY 492: Directed Study or Research in Physics
  Intensive study of one aspect of physics under the supervision of a faculty member.
• CAS PY 501: Mathematical Physics
  Introduction to complex variables and residue calculus, asymptotic methods, and conformal mapping; integral transforms; ordinary and partial differential equations; non-linear equations; integral equations.
• CAS PY 502: Computational Physics
  Fundamental methods of computational physics and applications; numerical algorithms; linear algebra, differential equations; computer simulation; vectorization, parallelism, and optimization. Examples and projects on scientific applications.
• CAS PY 511: Quantum Mechanics I
  General theory of quantum mechanics, including the Schrodinger, Heisenberg, and interaction pictures. The path integral formulation. Angular momentum: orbital and spin angular momentum, addition of angular momenta, Wigner-Eckart theorem. Scattering theory: time-independent, partial waves and phase shift, identical particles, time dependent, and propagators.
• CAS PY 512: Quantum Mechanics II
  Continuation of CAS PY 511. Degenerate and nondegenerate perturbation theory. Second quantization of nonrelativistic systems with applications to scattering, lifetime of excited atomic states, many-body problems. Relativistic quantum mechanics: Klein-Gordon equation, Dirac equation.
• CAS PY 521: Electromagnetic Theory I
  Vector and tensor analysis. Electrostatics, uniqueness, electrostatic energy, capacitance. Boundary value problems, conformal mapping, variable separation, Green's functions. Multipole expansion, electric polarization, atomic models, anisotropic media. Contour integration and application to frequency-dependent dielectric constant. Dielectrics, electrostatic energy, boundary value problems.
• CAS PY 522: Electromagnetic Theory II
  Continuation of CAS PY 521. Magnetostatics, dipole moment, magnetic materials, boundary value problems. Electromagnetic induction, magnetic energy, Maxwell's equations. Electromagnetic waves in materials, reflection, refraction. Waveguides. Scattering and diffraction. Special relativity. Lorentz transformations, covariant electrodynamics. Interaction of charges with matter. Radiation, Lienard-Wiechert potential, synchotron radiation, antennas.
• CAS PY 536: Quantum Computing
  Quantum physics as a powerful computational paradigm. Quantum bits (qubits), qubit operations and quantum gates, computation, and algorithms. Computational complexity classes, and efficiency of classical vs. quantum computers. Quantum Fourier transform and Shor's factorization algorithm. Physical implementation of quantum computation. Also offered as CAS CS 536.
• CAS PY 541: Statistical Mechanics I
  Probability theory. Ensembles. Steepest descent methods. Paramagnetism, ideal gas, Einstein model, adsorption isotherms. Thermodynamics, Maxwell relations, heat capacity. Bose and Fermi gases. Electrons in metals, white dwarf stars, black-body radiation, phonons, Bose-Einstein condensation. Interacting systems, virial expansion, Van der Waals gas. Phase transitions: mean-field theories, spin systems.
• CAS PY 542: Statistical Mechanics II
  Continuation of CAS PY 541; emphasis on applications. Phase transitions: thermodynamic theory of phase transitions, mean field theories (Landau theory). Fluctuations: equilibrium fluctuations, instabilities, fluctuation dissipation theories. Elementary kinetic theory: mean free path approach, Boltzmann equation. Stochastic mathematics: probability theory, Markoff processes, Gaussian processes. Brownian motion: Langevin equations, Fokker-Planck equation.
• CAS PY 543: Introduction to Solid State Physics
  An introduction to crystal structure; lattice vibrations; electronic energy bands and Fermi surfaces; semiconductors, conductors, and insulators; superconductivity and magnetism.

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