Applied Physics

Courses

APHY 506a, Basic Quantum Mechanics  Liang Jiang

Basic concepts and techniques of quantum mechanics essential for solid state physics and quantum electronics. Topics include the Schrödinger treatment of the harmonic oscillator, atoms and molecules and tunneling, matrix methods, and perturbation theory.
TTh 1pm-2:15pm

APHY 548a, Solid State Physics I  Sohrab Ismail-Beigi

A two-term sequence (with APHY 549) covering the principles underlying the electrical, thermal, magnetic, and optical properties of solids, including crystal structures, phonons, energy bands, semiconductors, Fermi surfaces, magnetic resonance, phase transitions, and superconductivity.
TTh 1pm-2:15pm

APHY 549b, Solid State Physics II  Vidvuds Ozolins

A two-term sequence (with APHY 548) covering the principles underlying the electrical, thermal, magnetic, and optical properties of solids, including crystal structures, phonons, energy bands, semiconductors, Fermi surfaces, magnetic resonance, phase transitions, and superconductivity.
TTh 1pm-2:15pm

APHY 588a, Modern Nanophotonics: Theory and Design  Owen Miller

This course is an introduction to modern nanophotonic theory and design. We introduce a broad range of mathematical and computational tools with which one can analyze, understand, and design for a diverse range of nanophotonic phenomena. The course is meant to be in the orthogonal complement of traditional courses working through Jackson’s Classical Electrodynamics—we (mostly) avoid specialized high-symmetry cases in which Maxwell’s equations can be solved exactly. Instead, our emphasis is on general mode, quasinormal-mode, and scattering-matrix descriptions, as well as surface- and volume-integral formulations that distill the essential physics of complex systems. The unique properties and trade-offs for a variety of computational methods, including finite-element, finite-difference, integral-equation, and modal-expansion (e.g., RCWA) approaches, comprise a significant portion of the latter half of the term. The robust open-source computational tools Meep, S4, and NLopt are introduced early on, to be learned and utilized throughout the term. Prerequisites: undergraduate-level electromagnetism (e.g., APHY 322) and linear algebra (e.g., MATH 222 or 225); familiarity with any of Matlab/Python/Julia/etc., or a willingness to learn.
TTh 9am-10:15am

APHY 590b / PHYS 590b, Responsible Conduct in Research for Physical Scientists  Staff

Required seminar for all first-year students.
HTBA

APHY 610b / PHYS 610b, Quantum Many-Body Theory  Leonid Glazman

Identical particles and second quantization. Electron tunneling and spectral function. General linear response theory. Approximate methods of quantum many-body theory. Dielectric response, screening of long-range interactions, electric conductance, collective modes, and photon absorption spectra. Fermi liquid; Cooper and Stoner instabilities; notions of superconductivity and magnetism. BCS theory, Josephson effect, and Majorana fermions in condensed matter; superconducting qubits. Bose-Einstein condensation; Bogoliubov quasiparticles and solitons.
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

APHY 628a / PHYS 628a, Statistical Physics II  Meng Cheng

An advanced course in statistical mechanics. Topics may include mean field theory of and fluctuations at continuous phase transitions; critical phenomena, scaling, and introduction to the renormalization group ideas; topological phase transitions; dynamic correlation functions and linear response theory; quantum phase transitions; superfluid and superconducting phase transitions; cooperative phenomena in low-dimensional systems.
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm

APHY 675a / PHYS 675a, Principles of Optics with Applications  Hui Cao

Introduction to the principles of optics and electromagnetic wave phenomena with applications to microscopy, optical fibers, laser spectroscopy, nanophotonics, plasmonics, and metamaterials. Topics include propagation of light, reflection and refraction, guiding light, polarization, interference, diffraction, scattering, Fourier optics, and optical coherence.
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

APHY 677a / PHYS 677a, Noise, Dissipation, Amplification, and Information  Michel Devoret

Graduate-level non-equilibrium statistical physics applied to noise phenomena, both classical and quantum. The aim of the course is to explain the fundamental link between the random fluctuations of a physical system in steady state and the response of the same system to an external perturbation. Several key examples in which noise appears as a resource rather than a limitation are treated: spin relaxation in nuclear magnetic resonance (motional narrowing), Johnson-Nyquist noise in solid state transport physics (noise thermometry), photon correlation measurements in quantum optics (Hanbury Brown-Twiss experiment), and so on. The course explores both passive and active systems. It discusses the ultimate limits of amplifier sensitivity and speed in physics measurements.
MW 9am-10:15am

APHY 725b / ENAS 725b, Advanced Synchrotron Techniques and Electron Spectroscopy of Materials  Charles Ahn

This course provides descriptions of advanced concepts in synchrotron X-ray and electron-based methodologies for studies of a wide range of materials at atomic and nano-scales. Topics include X-ray and electron interactions with matter, X-ray scattering and diffraction, X-ray spectroscopy and inelastic methods, time-resolved applications, X-ray imaging and microscopy, photo-electron spectroscopy, electron microscopy and spectroscopy, among others. Emphasis is on applying the fundamental knowledge of these advanced methodologies to real-world materials studies in a variety of scientific disciplines.
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm

APHY 816b / PHYS 816b, Techniques Microwave Measurement  Robert Schoelkopf

An advanced course covering the concepts and techniques of radio-frequency design and their application in making microwave measurements. The course begins with a review of lumped element and transmission line circuits, network analysis, and design of passive elements, including filters and impedance transformers. We continue with a treatment of passive and active components such as couplers, circulators, amplifiers, and modulators. Finally, we employ this understanding for the design of microwave measurement systems and techniques for modulation and signal recovery, to analyze the performance of heterodyne/homodyne receivers and radiometers.
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm

APHY 990a or b, Special Investigations  Staff

Faculty-supervised individual projects with emphasis on research, laboratory, or theory. Students must define the scope of the proposed project with the faculty member who has agreed to act as supervisor, and submit a brief abstract to the director of graduate studies for approval.
HTBA