PHZ7427--Spring 1999

Solid State II

• Instructor: Peter Hirschfeld, NPB2156 Associate Professor of Physics with interests in superconductivity and low temperature physics.

  Office Hours Mon. 8th, Wed. 8th; Drop in anytime outside of office hours.

• Recommended Text: Rickayzen, Green's Functions for Condensed Matter Physics, Academic Press, 1984 (out of print)

• Other many-body physics texts:
  1. Mattuck, A guide to Feynman diagrams in the many-body problem, Dover, 1992. (Completely intuitive and nonrigorous approach to many body theory.)
  2. G. Mahan, Many-Particle Physics,Plenum, 1990 (Somewhat more modern text, excellent reference, too heavy to carry.)
  3. Fetter and Wallecka , Quantum theory of many-particle systems , McGraw-Hill, 1971 (quite formal, overburdened by indices, still very useful reference, some unusual examples from nuclear physics)
  4. Abrikosov, Gorkov, and Dzyaloshinski, Methods of quantum field theory in statistical physics, Dover, 1963 (very old fashioned, still the bible of the field)
• Other related texts:
  1. P.W. Anderson, Basic Notions of Condensed Matter Physics , Addison-Wesley, 1984.
  2. White, Quantum Theory of Magnetism (Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences, Vol 32), 1983.
  3. A. Auerbach, Interacting Electrons and Quantum Magnetism, Springer, 1994.
  4. Schrieffer, Theory of Superconductivity, Perseus, 1988.
  5. Tinkham, Introduction to Superconductivity, McGraw-Hill, 1995.
  6. R. Prange & S. Girvin, The Quantum Hall Effect Springer, 1990.
  7. T. Chakraborty and P. Pietilainen, The Quantum Hall Effects, Springer 1995.

• Course Description: Brief introduction to many-body theory: formal treatment of 2nd quantization, Green's functions, and perturbation theory. These tools will be used to enhance a more physical discussion of normal metals, superconductors, quantum magnets, and quantum Hall effect (in honor of this year's Nobel prize). Here is a more complete schedule.

• Prerequisites: PHZ6426 preferred, replaceable by v. good quantum mechanics background.

• Required Work:

  Homework:

  Problem sets will be handed out sporadically, roughly once every three weeks. I will try to grade them promptly if you try to hand them in promptly.

  Tests:

  There will be one take-home test on many-body theory, and one covering aspects of metals, magnets, superconductors, and quantum Hall effect.

  Term paper:

  Thorough discussion of an article in recent Physical Review Letters (or LANL archive posting, or other journal, clear with me): explanation of problem, methods used to attack it (theoretical or experimental), critique, suggestion of future directions.

  Consultation with other students & faculty is encouraged in all aspects of required work

  Grading Policy:

  Anyone who shows a genuine interest in learning the material and completes the assignments will get an A.