Graduate

A practical introduction to working as a teaching assistant for undergraduate classes in physics, including both teaching laboratories and running discussion sections. The training includes topics in classroom climate and inclusivity, active learning, motivating students, office hours, information technology, grading, communication with the instructor, and handling difficult situations. Students engaged in teaching in the same quarter are encouraged to apply the lessons in their classes and return with feedback to be discussed. Required course for first year graduate students.

Introduction to current research opportunities at UCSC for graduate students. Topics include: elementary particle physics, condensed matter and solid state physics, high energy astrophysics, biophysics, and cosmology. Selected topics related to career development may also be included.

Generalized coordinates, Lagrange and Hamiltonian mechanics, Poisson Brackets, Classical field theory, other advanced topics in classical dynamics. Introduction to thermodynamics, thermodynamic potentials and Legendre transforms, entropy, distribution functions. (Formerly Classical Mechanics.)

Examines electrostatics and magnetostatics, boundary value problems, multipole expansion, dielectric and magnetic materials, time-varying electromagnetic fields, Maxwell's equations, conservation laws, and plane electromagnetic waves and wave propagation.

Electromagnetic waves; waves in dispersive media; waveguides and cavities; complete development of special relativity with applications; Lorentz covariant formulation of Maxwell's equations; radiating systems; scattering and diffraction; advanced topics in radiation theory and optics.

Mathematic introduction; fundamental postulates; time evolution operator, including the Heisenberg and Schrodinger pictures; simple harmonic oscillator and coherent states; one-dimensional scattering theory, including S-matrix resonant phenomena; two-state systems, including magnetic resonance; symmetries, including rotation group, spin, and the Wigner-Eckart theorem; rotationally invariant problems, including the hydrogen atom; gauge invariance, including Landau levels; introduction to path integral.

Approximate methods: time-independent perturbation theory, variational principle, time-dependent perturbation theory; three-dimensional scattering theory; identical particles; permutation symmetry and exchange degeneracy, anti-symmetric and symmetric states; many-body systems and self-consistent fields: variational calculations; second quantized formalism, including Fock spaces/number representation, field operators and Green functions; applications: electron gas; quantization of the electromagnetic field and interaction of radiation with matter: absorption, emission, scattering, photoelectric effect, and lifetimes.

Lorentz invariance in quantum theory, Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations, the relativistic hydrogen atom, Green functions and canonical approach to field theory, quantum electrodynamics, Feynman diagrams for scattering processes, symmetries and Ward identities. Students learn to perform calculations of scattering and decay of particles in field theory.

Path integral approach to quantum field theory. Theory of renormalization and the renormalization group, introduction to gauge theories and spontaneously broken field theories. Applications to the standard model of strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions.

The basic laws of thermodynamics, entropy, thermodynamic potentials, kinetic theory of gases, quantum and classical statistical mechanics, virial expansion, linear response theory. Applications in condensed matter physics.

Finite temperature Green functions, Feynman diagrams, Dyson equation, linked cluster theorem, Kubo formula for electrical conductivity, electron gas, random phase approximation, Fermi surfaces, Landau fermi liquid theory, electron phonon coupling, Migdal's theorem, superconductivity.

First quarter of a two-quarter graduate level introduction to particle physics, including the following topics: discrete symmetries, quark model, particle classification, masses and magnetic moments, passage of radiation through matter, detector technology, accelerator physics, Feynman calculus, and electron-positron annihilation.

Second quarter of a two-quarter graduate level introduction to particle physics, including the following topics: nucleon structure, weak interactions and the Standard Model, neutrino oscillation, quantum chromodynamics, CP violation, and a tour of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Focuses on the theoretical underpinnings of the standard model, including the spontaneous symmetry breaking, the renormalization group, the operator product expansion, and precision tests of the Standard Model.

Particle physics and cosmology of the very early universe: thermodynamics and thermal history; out-of-equilibrium phenomena (e.g., WIMPs freeze-out, neutrino cosmology, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, recombination); baryogenesis; inflation; topological defects. High-energy astrophysical processes: overview of cosmic ray and gamma ray astrophysics; radiative and inelastic processes; astroparticle acceleration mechanisms; magnetic fields and cosmic ray transport; radiation-energy density of the universe; ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays; dark-matter models; and detection techniques.

Develops the formalism of Einstein's general relativity, including solar system tests, gravitational waves, cosmology, and black holes.

Crystal structures, reciprocal lattice, crystal bonding, phonons (including specific heat), band theory of electrons, free electron model, electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions, transport theory.

Magnetism (para, ferro, anti-ferro, ferri), spin waves, superconductivity, introduction to semiconductors.

A special topics course which includes areas of current interest in condensed matter physics. Possible topics include superconductivity, phase transitions, renormalization group, disordered systems, surface phenomena, magnetic resonance, and spectroscopy.

A selection of topics from: liquid crystals, biological systems, renormalization group and critical phenomena, stochastic processes, Langevin and Fokker Planck equations, hydrodynamic theories, granular materials, glasses, quasicrystals.

Statistical properties polymers. Scaling behavior, fractal dimensions. Random walks, self avoidance. Single chains and concentrated solutions. Dynamics and topological effects in melts. Polymer networks. Sol-gel transitions. Polymer blends. Application to biological systems. Computer simulations demonstrating much of the above. Students cannot receive credit for this course and PHYS 120.

This course will apply efficient numerical methods to the solution of problems in the physical sciences which are otherwise intractable. Examples will be drawn from classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and electrodynamics. Students will apply a high-level programming language such as Mathematica to the solution of physical problems and will develop appropriate error and stability estimates.

Finite and continuous groups, group representation theory, the symmetric group and Young tableaux, Lie groups and Lie algebras, irreducible representations of Lie algebras by tensor methods, unitary groups in particle physics, Dynkin diagrams, Lorentz and Poincaré groups.

A series of lectures on various topics of current interest in physics at UC Santa Cruz.

Intensive research seminar on cosmology and related topics in astrophysics: nature of dark matter; origin of cosmological inhomogeneities and other initial conditions of the big bang; origin and evolution of galaxies and large scale structure in the universe.

Research seminar on x-ray studies of the properties and behavior of magnetic materials. Topics include: the underlying physical interactions, experimental techniques, and selected examples from current research. This course includes a visit to the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley.

Seminar on the current literature of elementary particle physics, ranging from strong and weak interaction phenomenology to Higgs physics, supersymmetry, and superstring theory. Students may present their own research results.

Seminar on current results in experimental high-energy particle physics. Topics follow recently published results, including design of experiments, development of particle detector technology, and experimental results from new particle searches, quantum chromodynamics, and properties of heavy flavor quarks.

Intensive research seminar on applied physics and related topics in materials science, including semiconductor devices, optoelectronics, molecular electronics, magnetic materials, nanotechnology, biosensors, and medical physics. Students may present their own research results.

Survey of current research in experimental high-energy and particle astrophysics. Recent observations and development in instrumentation for x-rays, gamma rays, and neutrinos, and evidence for dark matter and other new particles. Students lead discussion of recent papers.

Weekly seminar series covering topics of current interest in condensed matter physics. Local and external speakers discuss their work.

Weekly seminar attended by faculty and graduate students. Directed at all physics graduate students who have not taken and passed the qualifying examination for the Ph.D. program.

Seminar

Enrollment restricted to graduate students only, except by permission of instructor.

Enrollment restricted to graduate students only, except by permission of instructor.

Enrollment restricted to graduate students only, except by permission of instructor.

Enrollment restricted to graduate students only, except by permission of instructor.

Enrollment restricted to graduate students only, except by permission of instructor.

Enrollment restricted to graduate students only, except by permission of instructor.

Enrollment restricted to graduate students only, except by permission of instructor.