Fall 2005
Lecturer: Eduardo Mucciolo (office in MAP 416, ext 3-1882, e-address: mucciolo physics ucf edu)
Schedule and Location: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00-1:20 pm, in the Math and Physics Building, room 306. Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00am-12:00 pm.
Credit hours: 3 units.
Prerequisites: Quantum Mechanics I, II, and Statistical Mechanics, or equivalent. The course is aimed at second-year graduate students majoring in physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and materials science. Undegraduate students interested in taking this course should consult with the instructor beforing registering.
Content:
1) Atomic Structure: Crystals; 2D and 3D lattices; experimental determination of crystal structures; other structures (alloys, liquids, glasses, liquid crystals, polymers, quasicrystals).
2) Electronic Structure: The single-electron model; electrons in crystals (Bloch’s theorem, Brillouin zones, Fermi surfaces); symmetries and the Schroedinger equation; band structures; metals, semiconductors, and insulators; nearly free vs. tightly bound electrons; effective mass approximation; electron-electron interactions.
3) Lattice Vibrations: Classical model and normal modes; quantum mechanical model; acoustic and optical phonons; experiments and applications.
4) Metals Revisited: Semiclassical theory; Pauli paramagnetism; Landau diamagnetism; electron transport; Fermi liquid theory (basic concepts).
5) Semiconductors Revisited: Metal interfaces; P-N junctions; heterostructures; excitons; optical properties.
6) Additional Topics (time permiting): Plasmons; introductory superconductivity; introductory magnetism; metal-insulator transitions; weak localization; classical and quantum Hall effects.
Textbook:Condensed Matter Physics, by Michael P. Marder (Wiley, 2001) – When buying it, make sure that the copy is the corrected 5th printing or newer. For older printings, consult the updated errata at Prof. Marder’s website.
Other useful books for this course are: Principles of the Theory of Solids, J. M. Ziman (Cambridge, 1989), 2nd ed.; Solid State Physics, N. W. Ashcroft and N. D. Mermin (Saunders, 1976); Quantum Theory of Solids, C. Kittel (Wiley, 1987), 2nd ed..
During the course other relevant references and auxiliary material will be provided as needed.
Grading: Final grades will be based on homework (1/3), a mid-term (1/3), and a final exam (1/3). Problem sets will be handed out every two weeks. Grading will be done over a scale from 0 to 100. Final letter grades will be given according to the following grid: A (100-95), A- (94-82), B+ (81-75), B (74-69), C+ (61-56), C (55-50), C- (49-43), D+ (42-35), D (34-28), D- (27-21), F (20-0). Problem sets handed in after the due date will be devaluated in 10% for every late day.
CALENDAR
PROBLEM SETS (pdf files)
#1 (due Tuesday, September 13)
#2 (due Thursday, September 29)
#3 (due Thursday, October 13)
#4 (due Friday, November 11)
#5 (due Monday, December 5)
NOTES (PDF files)
Lecture #1
Useful links
Naval Research Lab web site on lattice structures
Eduardo Mucciolo 2005-07-19