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Typical Course Schedule and Course Descriptions

First Year

Each graduate student selects a course of study in consultation with a graduate adviser. A student with weaknesses in preparation may be advised to take one or more advanced undergraduate courses the first year. Otherwise, students are normally expected to take a sequence of "core courses" in classical mechanics, electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, mathematical methods, and statistical mechanics. Students with advanced preparation can often get permission to skip a core course, but this requires approval by a departmental committee.

First year students are also expected to sign up for the Colloquium (PHY 290), in which outside speakers give broad overviews of topics of current research. Winter quarter, students also enroll in a course on departmental research (PHY 295), in which faculty members give introductions to their research areas. This course is especially useful for students who are trying to pick out a specialization and a Ph.D. adviser. Throughout their time at Davis, students may also sign up for a "Career Options" seminar (PHY 285) that brings in speakers from outside academia and occasionally arranges field trips to Silicon Valley.

By the second or third quarter, students are encouraged to spend a portion of their time on research, usually in the form of one or two units of Physics 299 under the direction of a faculty member. This does not commit a student to a given adviser or research area, but is often helpful in making such a choice later on. Quite often, this research has led to a thesis and has greatly accelerated its completion.

A typical first year graduate program for a Ph.D. student with a teaching assistantship and with no deficiencies in undergraduate preparation would be:

          Fall Quarter       Winter Quarter    Spring Quarter

          Physics 200A       Physics 200B      Physics 200C
          Physics 204A       Physics 204B      Physics 215C or 230A
          Physics 215A       Physics 215B      Physics 219A
          Physics 290        Physics 290       Physics 290
          Physics 390*       Physics 295       (Physics 299)
          Physics 396*       (Physics 299)     Physics 390*
                             Physics 390*      Physics 396*
                             Physics 396*

* If Teaching Assistant for a lab.

Second Year

After the first year of general courses, graduate students are normally expected to choose an area of specialization. Second year students take a sequence of specialized "cluster courses" in their fields. The present clusters are:

Condensed Matter Experiment: PHY 240ABC
Condensed Matter Theory: PHY 219B, 240ABC
High Energy Experiment: 230AB, 245ABC, 252B
High Energy Theory: 230ABC, 245ABC, 246, 252B
Nuclear Physics: PHY 230A, 252B, and three courses from 224ABC and 229AB
Biophotonics Designated Emphasis (Experiment): PHY 240AB; EAD 271; BIS 101 or 102 or 104 or BIM 202
Biophotonics Designated Emphasis (Theory): PHY 219B, 240AB; EAD 271; BIS 101 or 102 or 104 or BIM 202
Observational Cosmology: PHY 265, 266, 267
Theoretical Cosmology: PHY 230AB, 260, 262, 263

Second year students also typically sign up for a seminar (PHY 291, 292, 293, or 294), in which outside speakers give talks in particular areas. By this time, students should also begin serious work on independent research (PHY 299). A typical second year schedule would be:

          Fall Quarter         Winter Quarter       Spring Quarter

          Physics 290          Physics 290          Physics 290
          Physics 291,2,3 or 4 Physics 291,2,3 or 4 Physics 291,2,3 or 4
          Physics 299          Physics 299          Physics 299
          Physics 390*         Physics 390*         Physics 390*
          Physics 396*         Physics 396*         Physics 396*
          Cluster Courses      Cluster Courses      Cluster Courses

* If Teaching Assistant for a lab.

Graduate Course Offerings

Physics 200A. Theory of Mechanics and Electromagnetics (4)

Lecture--3 hours; independent study--1 hour. Prerequisite: courses 104B, 105B, and 110C or the equivalent; course 204A concurrently.

Theoretical approaches in classical mechanics including the use of generalized coordinates and virtual work; variational calculus; Lagrange equations; symmetries, conservation laws, and Noether theorem; Lagrangian density; Hamilton formalism; canonical transformations; Poisson brackets; and Hamilton-Jacobi equations. I.

Physics 200B-200C. Theory of Mechanics and Electromagnetics (4-4)

Lecture--3 hours; independent study--1 hour. Prerequisite: course 200A, and course 204B concurrently.

Theoretical approaches in electromagnetics including static electromagnetic fields; Maxwell's equations; plane waves in various media; magnetohydrodynamics; diffraction theory; radiating systems; and special relativity. II-III.

Physics 204A-204B. Methods of Mathematical Physics (4-4)

Lecture--3 hours; independent study--1 hour. Prerequisite: courses 104A and 104B or the equivalent.

Linear vector spaces, operators and their spectral analysis, complete sets of functions, complex variables, functional analysis, Green's functions, calculus of variations, introduction to numerical analysis. I-II.

Physics 210. Computational Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: knowledge of Fortran or C.

Analytic techniques to solve differential equations and eigenvalue problems. Physics content of course will be self-contained, and adjusted according to background of students. III.

Physics 215A-215B-215C. Quantum Mechanics (4-4-4)

Lecture--3 hours; independent study--1 hour. Prerequisite: course 115B or the equivalent.

Formal development and interpretation of non-relativistic quantum mechanics; its application to atomic, nuclear, molecular, and solid-state problems; brief introduction to relativistic quantum mechanics and the Dirac equation. I-II-III.

Physics 219A-219B. Statistical Mechanics (4-4)

Lecture--3 hours; independent study--1 hour. Prerequisite: course 215B or the equivalent.

Foundations of thermodynamics and classical and quantum statistical mechanics with applications to properties of solids, real gases, nuclear matter, etc.; fluctuations about the equilibrium state; and phase transitions and critical phenomena. III, I.

Physics 223A. Group Theoretical Methods of Physics--Condensed Matter (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: courses 215A, 215B (215C is a corequisite) or consent of instructor.

Theory of groups and their representations with applications in condensed matter. Not offered every year. I.

Physics 223B. Group Theoretical Methods of Physics--Elementary Particles (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: courses 215A, 215B (215C is a corequisite) or consent of instructor.

Theory of groups and their representations with applications in elementary particle physics. Not offered every year. I.

Physics 224A. Nuclear Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 215B.

Comprehensive study of the nucleon-nucleon interaction including the deuteron, nucleon-nucleon scattering, polarization, determination of real parameters of S-matrix, and related topics. Not offered every year. II.

Physics 224B. Nuclear Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 224A.

Study of nuclear models, including shell model, collective model, unified model. Energy level spectra, static momenta, and electromagnetic transition rates. Not offered every year. III.

Physics 224C. Nuclear Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 224B.

Study of nuclear scattering and reactions including the optical model and direct reactions. Beta decay and an introduction to weak interactions. Not offered every year. I.

Physics 229A. Advanced Nuclear Theory (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 224C.

Advanced topics in nuclear theory; theory of quantum-mechanical scattering processes. Exact formal theory and models for two-body scattering. Not offered every year. II.

Physics 229B. Advanced Nuclear Theory (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 229A.

Advanced topics in nuclear theory; theory of quantum-mechanical scattering processes. Exact formal theory and models for three-body scattering. Not offered every year. III. nuclei.

Physics 230A. Quantum Theory of Fields (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 215C.

Relativistic quantum mechanics of particles; techniques and applications of second quantization; Feynman diagrams; renormalization. I.

Physics 230B. Quantum Theory of Fields (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 230A.

Continuation of 230A, with selected advanced topics, such as S-matrix theory, dispersion relations, and axiomatic formulations. II.

Physics 240A-240B. Condensed Matter Physics (3-3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: courses 215A-215B-215C; courses 140A-140B recommended.

Introduction to the phenomena and theory of the solid state. Periodic structures, lattice structures, electron states, static properties, electron-electron interaction, electron dynamics, transport properties, optical properties, the Fermi surface, magnetism, superconductivity. III.

Physics 240C. Solid State Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: courses 240A-240B or the equivalent.

Review of second quantization. Interacting electron gas, electron-phonon interaction and effects, including instabilities of electronic systems. Topics in the theory of superconductivity and magnetism. II-III.

Physics 241. Advanced Topics in Magnetism (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: courses 240A-240B, 240C-240D, or consent of instructor.

Topics chosen from areas of current research interest. Not offered every year. II.

Physics 242. Advanced Topics in Superconductivity (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: courses 240A-240B, 240C-240D, or consent of instructor.

Topics chosen from areas of current research interest. Not offered every year. II.

Physics 243A-243B-243C. Surface Physics of Materials (3-3-3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: courses 140A-140B, 115A-115B or the equivalents; 215A, 240A or the equivalents recommended.

Experimental and theoretical fundamentals of surface and interface physics and chemistry, including electronic and magnetic structure, thermodynamics, adsorption kinetics, epitaxial growth, and a discussion of various spectroscopic and structural probes based on photons, electrons, ions, and scanning probes. Not offered every year. II-III.

Physics 245A. High Energy Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 230A.

Phenomenology and systematics of strong, electromagnetic, and weak interactions of hadrons and leptons; determination of quantum numbers; quarks and quarkonia; deep inelastic scattering; the quark parton model; experiments at hadron colliders and electron-positron colliders. II.

Physics 245B. High Energy Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 245A.

Electroweak interactions; phenomenology of the Standard Model of SU(2)LxU(1); weak interaction experiments; properties of and experiments with W and Z vector bosons; Glashow-Weinberg-Salam model and the Higgs boson; introduction to supersymmetry and other speculations. III.

Physics 245C. High Energy Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 245A.

Strong interaction: quantum chromodynamics phenomenology; jets and other experimental tests; quark and gluon distribution functions; quark and gluon scattering; applications of the renormalization group. Not offered every year. III.

Physics 246. Supersymmetry: Theory and Phenomenology (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: courses 230A-230B, 245A-245B recommended, or consent of instructor.

Construction of supersymmetric models of particle physics; superfields; supersymmetry breaking the minimal supersymmetric standard model; supergravity. Collider phenomenology of supersymmetry. Dark matter phenomenology. Not offered every year. III.

Physics 250. Special Topics in Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Topic varies. May be repeated for credit. Not offered every quarter. I, II, III.

Physics 250. Natural Computational and Self-Organization: The Physics of Information Processing in Complex Systems.

Lecture--3 hours.

Describe and quantify randomness and structure; relation to concepts from the theory of computation. A number of example complex systems—taken from physics, chemistry, and biology—will be used to illustrate the phenomena and methods. III. Crutchfield. Recent Syllabi and More Complete Descriptions

Physics 252A. Techniques of Experimental Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours.

Introduction to techniques and methods of designing and executing experiments. Problems and examples from condensed matter research will be utilized. Not offered every year. III.

Physics 252B. Techniques of Experimental Physics (3)

Lecture--3 hours.

Introduction to techniques and methods of designing and executing experiments. Problems and examples from nuclear and particle research will be utilized. Not offered every year. III.

Physics 260. Introduction to General Relativity (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: courses 200A, 200B.

An introduction to general relativity. Differential geometry and curved spacetime; the Einstein field equations; gravitational fields of stars and black holes; weak fields and gravitational radiation; experimental tests; Big Bang cosmology. Offered in alternate years. III.

262. Early Universe Cosmology (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: 2nd year standing in Physics graduate program or consent of instructor.

Introduction to early universe cosmology: the Big Bang, inflation, primordial nucleosynthesis, dark matter, dark energy, and other topics of current interest. I.

263. Cosmic Structure Formation (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: Course 260 (General Relativity).

Growth of structure from small density inhomogeneities in the early universe to the diverse structures observable today. Use of observable properties (cosmic microwave background, gravitational lensing, peculiar velocities, number density, etc.) to constrain models of structure formation and fundamental physics. III.

265. High Energy Astrophysics and Radiative Processes (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Physics or consent of instructor.

Survey course covering galactic and extragalactic X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, radiative processes, and techniques of high-energy astrophysics. I.

266. Data Analysis for Astrophysics (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Physics or consent of instructor.

Survey course covering measurement and signal analysis techniques for astrophysics and cosmology throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. II.

267. Observational Extragalactic Astronomy & Cosmology (3)

Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Physics or consent of instructor.

Survey course covering current areas of research on extragalactic objects, their physical properties, origin, evolution, and distribution in space. III.

270. Current Topics in Physics Research (2)

Lecture/Discussion--2 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Physics or consent of instructor.

Reading and discussion to help physics graduate students develop and maintain familiarity with the current and past literature in their immediate field of research and related areas. May be repeated for credit when topics differ. I, II, III.

280. Seminar in Ethics for Scientists (2)

Seminar--2 hours. Studies of topical and historical issues in the ethics of science, possibly including issues such as proper authorship, peer review, fraud, plagiarism, responsible collaboration, and conflict of interest.

285. Careers in Physics (1)

Seminar--1 hour. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Physics.

Designed to give Physics graduate students an in-depth appreciation of career opportunities with a graduate degree in physics. Professional physicists, mainly from outside academia, will give seminars describing both research and career insights. II.