IPhD & PhD Programmes, SNBNCBS

4. INTEGRATED Ph.D. PROGRAMME IN PHYSICAL SCIENCES

(IPhD-PH)
In Collaboration with the

UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA
COURSE DESCRIPTION IN OUTLINE
The Integrated PhD Programme in Physical Sciences (IPhD-Ph) at the S. N. Bose National
Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS) in Collaboration with the University of Calcutta (CU) is
monitored by a Board of Studies comprising representatives from both SNBNCBS and CU, and
also eminent faculty members from other academic institutions as per CU rules. The duration
of this course is 2+5 = 7 years. A student seeking admission to this course must have passed
B.Sc with Physics & Mathematics securing at least 60% marks in the main subject. Final
selection will be made on the basis of national level written tests e.g. JEST/ NGPE or other
standard national level eligibility tests followed by personal interview/Counseling. The
candidate must also possess other qualifications as may be prescribed by the Academic
Council (AC) from time to time. After admission the candidates shall have to register with CU,
and as per rules, students coming from Universities other than CU shall have to submit
migration certificate.
Syllabus and Course Structure: The syllabus and course structure approved by the
Students' Curriculum and Research Evaluation Committee (SCREC) of SNBNCBS is
monitored by the Board of Studies and all strictly follow the UGC guidelines issued from time
to time.
The course descriptions given below are simply an attempt to give a rough outline of the
material to be covered. But of course the detailing out and the point of view is one to be
decided upon by the teacher. The same is true regarding the suggested textbooks. Generally
one expects that attempts will be made to suggest to the students even at the level of the basic
courses (in the first two semesters) the linkages with more advanced courses to come later.
Also to indicate how the core material relates to more recent applications. Furthermore,
efforts may be made to establish connectivity to other courses going on concurrently or to
those that are to come subsequently, to impart the sense of organic unity of the physical
sciences. Emphasis will be placed on tutorials and in having examples of the material covered
in the lectures to concretize the underlying ideas and facilitate the application of basic
principles to solving problems.

COURSE STRUCTURE
L=Lectures T=Tutorials P=Practicals in hours per week & C=Credit points
First Semester
PAPERS FOR 1ST SEMESTER (AUGUST – DECEMBER)
Course Course Title L T P C
No.
PHY101 Classical Dynamics 3 1 - 4
PHY102 Mathematical Methods 3 1 - 4
PHY103 Quantum Mechanics I 3 1 - 4
PHY104 Computational Methods in Physics I 2 - 2 4
PHY191 Basic Laboratory I - 2 6 6
Examination: 2nd week of December
Semester Break: 4th week of December

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FIRST SEMESTER COURSES & SYLLABUS

PHY 101. CLASSICAL DYNAMICS: 3-1-0-4

• Generalized coordinates with examples, Principle of least action, Lagrange’s
equations of motion
• Small oscillations, normal modes, forced and damped oscillators
• Legendre transformation, Hamilton's equations of motion,
• Symmetries and conservation laws (Noether’s theorem), central force problem
• Concept of a phase space, Poisson bracket and its properties, Hamilton’s equations of
motion, Constants of motion, Poisson bracket algebra of angular momentum, rigid
body rotations and Eulerian angles, algebra of rotation group, Liouville’s theorem
• Canonical Transformations, generating functions, generators of symmetries,
Hamiltonian as generator of time translation, HamiltonJacobi equation, action angle
variables.
• Continuous systems and fields, action, variational principle, Lagrangian and
Hamiltonian for a free scalar field, general variation of the action, derivation of Euler-
Lagrange equation, Noether’s theorem and conservation equation, energy momentum
tensor and conservation equation (analogy with the discrete case), Euler-Lagrange
equations for pure electromagnetic theory and Maxwell’s equations.

Suggested Textbooks:
 H. Goldstein : Classical Mechanics, 2nd edition.
 John L. Synge and Byron A. Griffith : Principles of Mechanics, 3 rd Edition.
 L.D.Landau and E. M. Lifshitz : Mechanics ( Volume I of - A course of
Theoretical Physics ).
 E.C.G.Sudarshan and N. Mukunda : Classical Mechanics - a modern
perspective.

PHY 102. MATHEMATICAL METHODS I: 3-1-0-4

• Linear spaces and algebra of linear transformations: Axiomatic definition of
a linear space with examples, dual spaces, inner product spaces, definition of an
associative algebra with examples, vector space homomorphisms with examples,
Algebra of linear transformations, matrices, characteristic roots and associated
properties, canonical form of matrices, general definition of hermitian and unitary
operators with examples.

• Group Theory: Definition of a group (examples); subgroup (examples); normal

subgroups and quotient groups (examples); homomorphisms (examples), permutation
groups, orthogonal, unitary, pseudo-orthogonal groups; definition of a Lie algebra
with examples; structure constants, adjoint representation; SU(2) and SO(3) groups as
Lie groups, Lie algebra of their generators, homomorphism between SU(2) and SO(3);
Poincare group and its algebra.

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• Functions of a complex variable: Review of complex numbers; definition of a

complex function; continuous functions; differentiability; definition of an analytic
function; Cauchy-Riemann equations; the exponential function; the trigonometric
functions; the hyperbolic functions; multivalued functions and principal branch;
power series for log(1+z); zeros and poles of functions; classification of singularities;
Cauchy’s theorem; analytic continuation; Cauchy’s integral formula; Laurent
expansion, calculus of residues.

• Metric spaces and Hilbert spaces: definition and some examples of a metric
space; open sets; closed sets; convergence; completeness; compactness; continuous
mappings; spaces of continuous functions; Euclidean and unitary spaces; Hilbert
space, the Schwarz inequality; orthogonal complements (basic theorems);
orthonormal sets; Bessel’s inequality, Riesz-Fischer theorem; the adjoint of an
operator; Hermitian and self-adjoint operators; normal and unitary operators;
projections.

Suggested Textbooks:
 Brown and Churchill: Complex variables and applications
 Dennery and Krzywicki: Mathematics for Physicists

PHY 103. QUANTUM MECHANICS I: 3-1-0-4

● Mathematical preliminaries:
▪ Vector spaces: Definition, Dirac notation, inner product, Hilbert space,
orthonormal basis, Gram-Schmidt construction, dual vectors, Cauchy-
Schwarz inequality;
▪ Linear operators: Definition, algebra, inverse, adjoint, Hermitian,
unitary, projection operator, matrix representation, eigenvalue,
eigenvector, complete set of commuting operators, functions and
derivatives of operators;
▪ Continuous basis: x-basis, delta function, -i d/dx, p-basis, Fourier
transform;
● Quantum Mechanics:
▪ Formulation in terms of postulates, Schrödinger equation, stationary
states, evolution operator, time independent systems, non-relativistic
wave equation, 1-d oscillator in operator formulation, relation with wave
functions;
▪ Ehrenfest theorem, parity, 1-d potentials, square well, periodic potential,
Dirac comb, 1-d scattering
● 3-d systems:
▪ Central potential, angular momentum operator algebra, eigenvalues,
eigenvectors, spherical harmonics, free particle, spherical oscillator,
Hydrogen atom, operator methods;
● Identical particles:
▪ Multiparticle states and Hilbert space, bosons and fermions;
● Continuous Symmetry transformations:
▪ Translation, rotation, general structure, internal symmetries, conserved
charge, gauge symmetry and coupling with electromagnetic field,
Aharonov-Bohm effect;

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● Spin:
▪ Stern-Gerlach experiment, operator algebra and representation, Zeeman
effect;
▪ Addition of angular momentum, L + S.

Suggested Textbooks:
 R. Shankar: Principles of Quantum Mechanics
 A. Bohm: Quantum Mechanics: Foundations and Applications

PHY 104. COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN PHYSICS I: 2-0-2-4

1. Computational Language (FORTRAN / C / Python)
1.01 Basic Linux commands and vi editor commands.
1.02 Constants and variables; variable types and declarations.
1.03 Assigment and arithmatic expressions.
1.04 Read and write statements, logical expression.
1.05 IF, Arithmatic IF, IF-THEN-ELSE statements.
1.06 GO TO, Computed GO TO statements.
1.07 DO loops, nested DO loops.
1.08 Functions and subroutines.
1.09 Arrays, 1-2-3 dimensionals.
1.10 Formatted input / output statements.
1.11 Precision – single, double, quartic.
1.12 xmgrace and gnuplot.

2. Simple Problems to Practice the Language

2.01 Finding the largest number in a set of numbers.
2.02 Sum of some numbers except one of them.
2.03 Arranging numbers in increasing / decreasing order.
2.04 To test if the given number is prime;
generating all prime numbers up to a given number.
2.05 Mean, variance standard deviation of a given set of numbers.
2.06 Factorial of a given number.
2.07 Generating the Fibbonaci series.
2.08 N atoms, each has two spin states. Enumerate all possible microstates, estimation
of the energy of each of these states, distribution of magnetisation and energy.
2.09 Converting a decimal number into a binary.
2.10 Matrix operations.

3. Numerical Techniques
3.01 Error in computation – definition and source of errors, propagating and control
of errors.
3.02 Root finding for polynomial equations, Bisection method and Newton-Raphson
method, or use any other two methods.
3.03 Interpolation, extrapolation – Polynomial interpolation or any other method.
3.04 Numerical integration – Mid-point rule and Trapezoidal rule or any two other
methods.

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3.05 Solving linear equations – Gauss elimination methods and Iterative solution
methods.

4. Simulation Techniques
4.01 Random number generation.
4.02 Monte Carlo (MC) method, Importance Sampling.
4.03 Estimate of (i) the value of π, (ii) area of an annular ring and (iii) Integration of
simple functions using MC.
4.04 Biased and un-biased Random walks in one and two dimension, probability
distribution, dispersion, mean-square-distance, exponents.
4.05 Simple example of simulations using Monte Carlo method.

Suggested Textbooks:
 Numerical Recipes in C/Fortran:The Art of Scientific Computing By William
H. Press et al.
 Monte Carlo Simulation in Statistical Physics: An Introduction by Kurt
Binder, Dieter Heermann.
 Computer Programming In Fortran 90 and 95 By V. Rajaraman

PHY 191. BASIC LABORATORY I: 0-2-6-6

The aim of this course is to help develop a temperament among the students so that
they may feel some confidence in setting up experimental arrangements for
investigating physical problems, and go beyond the black box push-button mentality.
Instead of specifying a set of pre-existing equipment and already set-up experiments,
this curriculum gives emphasis to the universal principles and underpinnings of
experimental techniques through a laboratory based hands-on course and design of
experiments.
As a first step towards this goal it is necessary to introduce the working principles of
basic measuring instruments and sensors and how they can be used to measure
and to control different physical variables. For this purpose it is essential that the
students become familiar with the principles and practice of electronics. Accordingly
one of the components of this course is Electronics which will be superposed on the
part devoted to the investigation of physical phenomena in order to avoid
compartmentalisation. For convenience this component is spelt out first:

1. Measurement of Thevenin parameters (V[TH] and R[TH]) of a DC power supply

(Battery).
• Plot V[load] versus R[load] curve and mark slope and stiff regions.
• In the slope region measure V[load] for at least two different R[load] and
characterize V[TH] and R[TH].
• In the stiff region measure I[Load] for at least two different R[Load] and
characterize V[TH] and R[TH].
• Measure V[TH] by using a multimeter and compare with the estimated value
of V[TH] and comment.
2. Characterization of semiconductor diodes and designing of transformer based
full wave rectifier.

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• Draw three characterization curves of two rectifier diodes (Germanium,

Silicon) and one Zener diode.
• Estimate turn ratio of a transformer by measuring voltage ratio
(primary and secondary).
• Construct a Full wave rectifier and measure input and output waveforms of the
rectifier.
3. Characterization of a Zener Regulated DC power supply.
• Measure V[C], V[rms], g and PIV of a full wave rectifier and compare them
with their calculated values.
• Design a R-C filter and measure p-p ripple voltage and compare with
calculated value.
• Design a Zener regulator after the above filter and measure load dependency
and load regulation (voltage).
4. Characterization of an n-p-n transistor and designing of fixed biased CE transistor
amplifier.
• Draw base and collector characteristic curves of an n-p-n transistor in the CE
configuration.
• Mark saturation, cutoff and active regions and determine Q point for best
transistor operation.
• Design a simple fixed biased CE amplifier with the estimated Q point.
Determine current gain and compare with the specified value.
5. Use of a transistor as electronic switch and designing a memory unit (R-S
flip flop).
• Use a transistor as a switch to operate a LED in the output with low frequency
input.
• By using high frequency square wave input measure t[on] and t[off].
• Design a R-S flip-flop and complete its truth table with S as input. Catch a bit
from a low frequency pulse train.
6. Use of IC 741 as an adder, amplifier, integrator, differentiator etc.

Suggested References:
 Price, Analog Electronics (Prentice Hall)
 Hickman, Analog Electronics (Newnes)
 Bogart, Electronic Devices and Circuits (Universal Book Stall)
 Streetman, Solid State Electronic Devices (P/H/I)
 Horowitz and Hall, The Art of Electronics (Cambridge)

The other important component of this course is Optics. The details of this course are
spelt out below:

1. Experiments related to Laser beam characteristics such as:

 To study the intensity distribution of Laser Beam

 Determination of spot size and the angle of divergence of a given laser source.
 Measurement of absorption coefficient (Beer Lambert’s Law) of a material
(supplied) using laser light.

2. Experiments related to interference such as:

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 To determine wavelength of He-Ne Laser by Michelson Interferometer

3. Experiments related to diffraction such as:

 To measure the number of lines in a transmission grating using Laser.

 To measure the wavelength of He-Ne Laser using a grating.

4. Experiments related to polarization such as:

 To study circularly polarized light by a quarter wave plate.

 To verify Malus law and to determine Verdet constant of a given crystal.
 To demonstrate Faraday effect
 To demonstrate Electro-optic effect

5. Experiments related to Spectroscopy:

 Construction of a simple spectrometer using a white light source and a

grating as major components.
 Measurement of absorption spectra of a given liquid sample.
 Validation of Beer Lambert’s Law of molecular absorption from the setup.

6. Experiments using Fibre optics such as:

 To measure the Numerical aperture of an optical fibre.
 To measure the attenuation in an optical fibre.
 To measure the bending loss in a fibre.

SECOND SEMESTER COURSES & SYLLABUS

L=Lectures T=Tutorials P=Practicals in hours per week & C=Credit points
PAPERS FOR 2ND SEMESTER (JANUARY – MAY)
Course No. Course Title L T P C
PHY201 Statistical Mechanics 3 1 - 4
PHY202 Quantum Mechanics II 3 1 - 4
PHY203 Electromagnetic Theory 3 1 - 4
PHY204 Computational Methods in Physics II 2 - 2 4
PHY291 Basic Laboratory II * - 2 6 6
PHY292 Summer Project Research I** - - 8 6

Semester Break: June & July (Project Research)

*For these laboratory based courses tutorials involve discussions on the underlying
theory and methodology of the experiments. Each such course would occupy eight lab-
hours distributed over two days in each week. In the Summer following the Second
Semester students will start taking up projects to enable him or her to develop an
integrated research attitude towards physics.

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**In the case of Project-based Courses “P” indicates the number of interaction hours
per week.
PHY 201. STATISTICAL MECHANICS: 3-1-0-4
 Review of the laws of thermodynamics. Need for statistical mechanics.
 Probability and statistics: Random walks, Gaussian and Poisson
 Distributions, Central Limit Theorem, Saddle point integration
 Distribution functions and phase space. Liouville equation, mixing and
ergodicity, Markov process and Master equation
 Ensembles: Micro canonical, Canonical, Grand canonical. Partition function
and connection with thermodynamic potentials, equivalence of different
ensembles
 Quantum Ideal Gases: Bose and Fermi Statistics, density of states, equation of
state
 Ideal Fermi gas: Analysis of equation of state and properties of f_{3/2}(z)
function, high temperature low density limit and Maxwell-Boltzmann form, low
temperature high density limit and Fermi level. Landau diamagnetism, Pauli
paramagnetism.
 Bose gas: Black body radiation, Phonons in solids, Bose-Einstein condensation
 Ising Model: Definition, spontaneous magnetization, Bragg-William
approximation, Bethe-Peierls approximation, exact solution of 1-d Ising model.
 Basic ideas of phase transitions.

Suggested Textbooks:
 M. Kardar, Statistical Physics of Particles
 L.E. Reichl, A Modern Course in Statistical Physics
 Kerson Huang, Statistical Mechanics

PHY 202. QUANTUM MECHANICS II: 3-1-0-4

 Scattering theory - Born approximation and partial wave analysis.
 Time independent perturbation theory.
 Variational method
 The WKB approximation.
 Time independent perturbation theory (Fermi’s Golden Rule).
 Adiabatic and Sudden Approximations
 Geometric Phases and the Bohm-Aharanov Effect.
 Rotation group, Tensor operators and the Wigner-Eckart theorem.
 Illustrations from atomic, molecular and nuclear physics.
 Pure and Mixed states. Density Matrix formalism

Suggested Textbooks:
 Shankar : Quantum Mechanics
 Landau & Lifshitz: Quantum Mechanics
 Messiah, Quantum Mechanics I & II
 Davidov, Quantum Mechanics
 Sakurai : Modern Quantum Mechanics
 Cohen-Tannoudji, Diu & Lal¨oe, Quantum Mechanics II

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 Ryder, Quantum Field Theory

 Flugge, Practical Quantum Mechanics

PHY 203. ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY: 3-1-0-4

 Review of Electrostatics & Magnetostatics
 Maxwell’s equations
 Lorentz Invariance of Maxwell’s equations; Review of Special Relativity;
Maxwell’s equations in covariant form; four-vector potential and the
electromagentic field tensor.
 Propagation of plane electromagnetic waves, reflection and refraction.
 Propagation through anisotropic and chiral media.
 Radiation from an accelerated charge, retarded and advanced potentials.
 Radiation multipoles
 Wave guides, Resonant Cavities.

Suggested Textbooks:
 J.D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics
 J.R. Reitz, F.J. Milford & R.W. Christy, Foundations of Electromagnetic
Theory.

PHY 204. COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN PHYSICS II: 2-0-2-4

Computational Language (FORTRAN / C / Python)

● Monte Carlo method

1.01 Metropolis Algorithm of the Monte Carlo method.
1.02 Example of Metropolis Algorithm to be discussed is Instructor specific. Example:
Ising Model, calculation of Magnetiation vs. Temperatre. Estimation of the Critical
point using Binder's cumulant method. Calculation of the correlation times at and
near the critical point. Estimation of the Critical exponents.

● Molecular Dynamics method

2.01 Fourth Order Runge Kutta method.
2.02 Molecular dynamics method.
2.03 Leapfrog method.
2.04 Velocity Verlet and Position Verlet Algorithm.
2.05 Short examples.

● Matrix Manipulations
3.01 Matrix diagonalization and its applications.
3.02 Fast Fourier Transformations and its applications.

● Short projects
4.01 Short simulation projects should be given. One for each student and the projects
are different for different students. However, every student has to learn writing codes
of all others as well. These will be discussed in the class, and each student will take
part and participate in all discussions. These will be assignment jobs and will be

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awarded marks. Finally the students will give 15-20 minutes presentations of their
codes and results.

● Ideas of High Performance Computing

5.01 Mathematica, Octave, AWK, shell script.
5.02 Introduction to Parallel computing: MPI, open MP etc.

Suggested Textbooks:

 Monte Carlo Simulation in Statistical Physics: An Introduction by Kurt

Binder, Dieter Heermann.
 Computer Simulation of Liquids by M. P. Allen, D. J. Tildesley
 Numerical Recipes in C/Fortran:The Art of Scientific Computing By William
H. Press et al.
 Tutor can choose his own reference books.

PHY 291 BASIC LABORATORY II: 0-2-6-6

As an essential component of this course is to introduce the student to the
advanced techniques in electronics the syllabus of which is given below:

1. Perform following experiments with proper truth table:

• Use NAND gate to realize the functions of NOT, AND, OR and EX-OR gates.
Indicate corresponding Boolean operation.
• Design a digital voting machine (using NAND gates only) for three voters by
following Karnaugh Map optimization technique.

2. Perform following experiments with proper truth table:

• Design digital circuits for half adder and subtractor by using NAND gates only.
• Show a circuit diagram of a full adder by using NAND gates only. Explain the
design and operation.

3. Perform following experiments with proper truth table:

 Make a J-K flip-flop circuit by using NAND gates only. Show toggle and self
oscillation (racing) in the output.
 Design Master-Slave J-K flip-flop and show the output performance.

The other component of this course is to develop the innovativeness of the student
to put to use the knowledge, attitudes and techniques acquired through the basic
electronics and optics courses in the first semester, to conceive, design, build and
implement projects for the measurement of say a physically interesting quantity or
the experimental verification of some physical principle or the quantitative
observation of some interesting phenomena etc.

Some of the experiments are listed below:

 Frank-Hertz experiments.

 Hall effect

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 Study of magnetic properties of ferro and paramagnetic materials

 Determination of Band gap in a semiconductor

 Millikan’s oil drop experiments

 Experiments on Photoelectric Effect

 Electron spin resonance experiments to determine Lande-g-factor

 Use of Geiger-Muller counter to determine half life of a radioactive source etc.

 Use of a telescope and CCD camera for astronomical experiments

PHY292 COMPULSORY (Summer Research Project): 0-0-8-6 (May – June –

July)

THIRD SEMESTER COURSES & SYLLABUS

L=Lectures T=Tutorials P=Practicals in hours per week & C=Credit points
PAPERS FOR 3RD SEMESTER (AUGUST – DECEMBER)
Course Course Title L T P C
No.
PHY391 Methods of Experimental Physics* 3 1 3 7
PHY301 Atomic & Molecular Physics 3 1 - 4
PHY302 Condensed Matter Physics 3 1 - 4
PHY303 Advanced Quantum Mechanics & 3 1 - 4
Applications
PHY304 Project Research II - - 8 6

* “Advanced Laboratory” involving routine experiments [such as NMR, Mossbauer, X-

Ray Diffraction, Electron Microscopy, Accelerators etc in the research laboratories of
the participating institutions], shall be integrated into
this course.

PHY 301. ATOMIC & MOLECULAR PHYSICS: 3-1-0-4

1. Atoms: One electron system, significance of quantum numbers, space
quantization, spin quantum number, orbital angular momentum, spin angular
momentum, Parity operator, time dependent perturbation theory, atoms in external
field, many electron systems, Pauli exclusion principle, spin-orbit interaction,
hyperfine structure.
2. Molecule: Electronic structure of diatomic molecules: MO theory (Quantum
mechanical approach to explain molecular bonds, B.O. approximation, foundation of
the MO theory, approximation methods for the calculation of electronic wave function,
LCAO and VB approach, hydrogen molecule ion, hydrogen molecule etc., their charge

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distribution and the concept of covalent and ionic bonds), shape of molecular orbitals,
spectroscopic term symbols, MO diagrams of some diatomic molecules.
2. Molecular Spectra: Electromagnetic spectra, interaction of radiation with
matter, general features of stimulated absorption, spontaneous emission and
stimulated emission, selection rule.
3. Rotational Spectroscopy: Moment of inertia of molecules, rotational
spectra of rigid molecules, diatomic molecules as non-rigid rotors, prolate and oblate
rotors, intensity of spectral lines.
4. Vibrational spectroscopy: Harmonic and an-harmonic oscillators, ro-
vibrational spectra, vibrations of polyatomic molecules, Transition matrix
elements, IR spectroscopy: basic theory and design (techniques), normal coordinates
and normal modes, application of group theory to molecular vibration, FTIR
spectroscopy.
5. Electronic spectroscopy: Electronic spectra of diatomic molecules, BO
approximation, FC principle, dissociation energy, fine structures, Fortrat diagram.
6. Laser spectroscopy: Basic principle of lasers, population inversion, the Einstein
coefficients, line-shape functions, two level, three level and four level laser systems,
optical gain, optical resonators, pulsed operation of laser: Q-switching and Mode
locking; experimental techniques of Q-switching and mode locking, different laser
systems: Ruby, CO2 , dye and Semiconductor diode lasers.
Suggested Textbooks:
 'Physics of Atoms and Molecules' by B.H. Bransden and C.J. Joachain
 'Molecular Spectroscopy' by I. N. Levine
 'Laser Fundamentals' by W. T. Silfvast

PHY302. CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS: 3-1-0-4

 Binding and cohesion in solids. Bonds and bands.
 Crystal Structure, X-ray Diffraction, Reciprocal Lattice.
 Periodic potentials, Bloch’s Theorem, Kroning Penney Model, Free electrons
and nearly free electrons; tight binding approximation.
 Elementary ideas of band structure of crystalline solids.
 Concept of holes and effective mass; density of states; Fermi surface;
explanation of electronic behaviour of metals, semi-conductors and insulators.
 Transport properties of solids. Boltzmann transport equation.
 Introduction to Superconductivity
 Introduction to Semiconductors
 Magnetism in solids. Lattice vibrations, harmonic approximation, dispersion
relations and normal modes, quantization of lattice vibrations and phonons.
Magnetism in solids. Add, diamagnetism, paramagnetism, ferromagnetism,
anti ferromagnetism. Curie-Weiss and Pauli Paramagnetism. Simple models for
ferromagnetism - Ising model.

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Suggested Books:
 Dekker, Solid State Physics
 Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics
 Ashcroft and Mermin, Introduction to Solid State Physics.
 Ziman, Principles of the Theory of Solids.

PHY303. ADVANCED QUANTUM MECHANICS AND APPLICATIONS: 3-1-0-4

1. Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

(a) Klein-Gordon equation and failure of the probability interpretation. The
presence of negative energy states and stability problem.

(b) Dirac equation. Its Lorentz covariance, Poincar_e group/algebra, Pauli-

Lubanski vector, Casimir operators of Poincar_e algebra. Spin (½) particles.
Physical content, plane wave solutions and pro-jectors, wave packets; Problems
in localization below Compton wavelength. Necessity for multi-particle theory.

Electro-magnetic coupling, non-relativistic limit, gyromagnetic ratio, Foldy-

Wouthysen transformation and appearance of spin-orbit interaction term and
Darwin term.

Hydrogen-like atom, hyperfine structure, Lamb shift. Nuclear effects.

Hole theory, anti-particles and charge conjugation. Free Dirac ropagator,
propagation in an arbitrary external electro-magnetic field. Relativistic
corrections to Rutherford scattering.

2. Path Integrals
Hamiltonian path integral. Stationary phase approximations, Application in
harmonic oscillator, Relation to Hilbert space formulation, Equation of motion
satisfied by time-ordered product, Green's function. Interpretation of poles and
residues. Feynman-Kac formula. Functional derivatives and commutation
relations. Euclidean path integrals and statistical mechanics.

3. Multi-particle systems
Indistinguishability. Permutation symmetry, (Anti) Symmetrization postulate;
Bosons and Fermions, Slater determinant, Helium atom, statement of spin-
statistics theorem. Brief introduction to second quantization, Bose-Einstein and
Fermi-Dirac statistics.

Suggested Books:
 Advanced Quantum Mechanics by F. Schwabl (Springer, 2000)
 Quantum Mechanics: Fundamentals by K. Gottfried and T-M. Yan (2nd Ed.
Springer,2003)
 Techniques and Applications of Path Integrations by L.S. Schulman (John
Wiley and Sons,1981)

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 Fundamentals in Nuclear Physics by Jean-Louis Basdevan, J. Rich and M. Spiro

(Springer, 2004)
 Introduction to Elementary Particles by D. Griffiths (John Wiley and Sons,
1987)

PHY 304 PROJECT RESEARCH I: 0-0-8-6

Projects shall be taken up by students under the supervision of a Project Guide.

PHY391. METHODS OF EXPERIMENTAL PHYSICS: 3-1-3-7

Students will use some advanced level experimental techniques which are
extensively used in experimental research. Some of them are listed below:

1. X-Ray and crystallography

2. Gamma Ray Spectroscopy.
3. Experiments on Observational Astronomy.
4. Experiments on Chemical thermodynamics/kinetics
5. Experiments on spectroscopy
6. Experiments on Thermal properties of matter.
7. Error analysis: Errors in observation and treatment of experimental data,
estimation of error, theory of errors and distribution laws, least squares
method, curve fitting, statistical assessment of goodness of fit.

FOURTH SEMESTER COURSES & SYLLABUS

L=Lectures T=Tutorials P=Practicals in hours per week & C=Credit points
PAPERS FOR 4TH SEMESTER (JANUARY – MAY)
Course Course Title L T P C
No.
PHY401 Project Research III - - 8 6
PHY402 Seminar Course - - - 2
PHY4XX Elective 1* 3 1 - 4
PHY4XX Elective 2* 3 1 - 4
PHY4XX Elective 3* 3 1 - 4
* Reference to the list of optional courses given below. The student would be required to
choose at least one course from Part A – 403, 404 & 405.

Examination: 2nd week of May

Semester Break: June & July

Course No. Course Title L T P C

PHY403 Astrophysics & Astronomy 3 1 - 4

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PHY404 Chemical Physics 3 1 - 4

PHY405 Biological Physics 3 1 - 4
PHY406 Advanced Mathematical Methods 3 1 - 4
PHY407 Advanced Quantum Field Theory 3 1 - 4
PHY408 Advanced Statistical Physics 3 1 - 4
PHY409 Magnetism and Superconductivity 3 1 - 4
PHY410 Non-Linear Dynamics 3 1 - 4
PHY411 Optical Physics 3 1 - 4
PHY412 Physics of Materials 3 1 - 4
PHY413 Quantum Information Theory 3 1 - 4
PHY414 Theory of Elementary Particles 3 1 - 4
PHY415 Mesoscopic Physics 3 1 - 4

* In the case of Project-based Courses “P” indicates the number of interaction hours
per week.

PHY 401. PROJECT RESEARCH III: 0-0-8-6

Projects shall be taken up by students under the supervision of a Project Guide.

PHY 402. SEMINAR COURSE: 0-0-0-2

PHY 403. ASTROPHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY: 3-1-0-4

Cosmology: Three models of the universe; Hubbles Law and expansion of the
Universe; Standard Candles; Cepheid Variables; Radiation and matter dominated
universe; Big bang nucleosynthesis and formation of elements; Era of Decoupling and
Cosmic Microwave Background.

Astrophysics: Hydrostatic equilibrium of a star; H-R diagram; Concept of effective

potential around Newtonian stars and non-rotating black holes; Marginally bound
and marginally stable orbits; Keplerian distribution; Bondi Accretion; Parker winds;
Types of Binaries; Roche Lobe overflow; Criteria of tidal disruption of stars and
accretion on compact objects; Thin accretion disks; importance on pressure on
distribution; Thick disks; importance of angular momentum on the flow.

X-ray Astronomy: Satellite observations, X-ray spectrum of disks around compact

objects and their interpretation.

Rotation Curve and Dark Matter; Classification of galaxies; Active galaxies ad Quasars.

Interstellar medium (ISM); Interstellar extinction law; Theoretical extinction model

and Mie scattering; Origin and evolution of chemical elements; Nucleogenesis;
Interstellar dust and Abundances.

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Continuous radiation from stars: Brightness of starlight, The electromagnetic

spectrum, Colors of stars, Quantifying color, Blackbody radiation, Planck's law,
Stellar colors, Stellar distances, Stellar parameters (Apparent and Absolute
magnitude, Luminosity, radius etc.) and their measurement techniques and Spherical
Astronomy - coordinate systems and Astronomical Time systems.

Spectral lines in stars, Spectral types, The origin of spectral lines, Line broadening due
to Doppler, thermal and collisions, The Bohr atom model and hydrogen spectral lines.
Formation of spectral lines - Excitation, Ionization and recombination, Boltzmann
Equation, Stimulated and spontaneous emission, Saha Ionization Equation, Ionized
hydrogen regions, Intensities of spectral lines, The Hertzprung--Russell diagram.

Telescopes - Refracting and Reflective telescopes, Ground-based and space-based

observatories, Properties of telescope - Light gathering power and Angular
resolution, Astronomical Instrumentation - Optical/IR filter-systems, Optical/IR
detectors, X-ray detectors, Photometer/Imaging camera and spectrometer.

Stellar evolution - The main sequence, Stellar energy sources, Gravitational lifetime
for a star, Nucleosynthesis, Nuclear lifetime for a star, Evolution off the main-
sequence - Giant and supergiants, Star-formation - Jeans Instability, collapse of a
spontaneous cloud and viral theorem.

The Sun - a typical star, Basic structure, Elements of radiation transport theory, The
photosphere, The chromosphere, The corona- Parts of the corona and Temperature
of the corona, Solar activity - Sunspots, Solar flares, Coronal mass Ejection (CME).

Reference books:
 S. Gregory and M. Zeilik, Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics
 B. Basu, Introduction to Astrophysics
 H. Karttunen et al., Fundamental Astronomy
 B. W. Carrol and D. A. Ostile, An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics
 Ian S. McLean, Electronic Imaging in Astronomy: Detector and
Instrumentation

PHY 404 CHEMICAL PHYSICS: 3-1-0-4

 Quantum Chemistry and the Nature of the Chemical Bond.
 Chemical Kinetics and Thermodynamics. Order of the Reaction. Rate laws.
 Mechanism of Chemical Reactions: (a) Collision Theory (b) Transition State
Theory
(c) Potential Energy Surface (d) Kramers Escape Rate.
 Enzyme Reactions: Solution kinetics, characterization of enzymes, control
mechanisms.
 Electron Transfer: (a) Dynamical Electrochemistry (b) Electron Transfer (c)
Quantum Models (d) Electron Charge Transfer in Proteins.

Suggested books:
 Nitzan, Chemical Dynamics in Condensed Phases, OUP, 2006.

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 H. Eyring, S H Lin, S M Lin, Basic Chemical Kinetics, John Wiley and Sons,
1980

PHY 405 BIOLOGICAL PHYSICS: 3-1-0-4

1. Molecular structure of biological systems: this includes a brief introduction to
molecular orbital theory, formation of various kinds of bonds, molecular excitation
and energy transfer, thermal molecular movement, order and probability, molecular
and ionic interactions: biological structures, interfacial phenomena and membranes.

2. Energetics and dynamics: Fundamental concept of thermodynamics, aqueous and

ionic equilibrium in living cell, Fluxes, transport in biological systems, electric fields in
cells, mechanical properties of biological materials, biomechanics and fluid behaviour.

3. Physical factors of the environment: temperature, pressure, sound, mechanical

oscillation, static and EM fields, ionizing radiation.

4. Kinetics of biological systems: systems theory, systems of metabolism and

transport, model approaches to some complex biological processes.

Some more topics could be included:

1. Biomolecular structures with emphasis on Proteins and Nucleic acids: Dihedral

angles and base pair parameters along with different levels of structural
organizations (descriptive only); water; carbohydrate and lipids; ATP.

2. Biophysical experimental techniques: Principles of Fluorescence, CD, NMR, X-

Ray, crystallography, AFM, Single molecular spectroscopy etc.

3. Molecular Dynamics simulation: Verlet algorithm; PBC; Constraint systems;

statistical analysis of data.

4. Biological modeling: Reaction-diffusion (or any other equivalent) systems for

illustration.

5. Introduction to Bio-informatics: Data mining; sequence comparison and

alignment.

Text book:
Biophysics by Roland Glaser

Reference books:
 Biological Physics: Energy, Information, Life by Philip Nelson
 Biophysics: An Introduction by Rodney Cotterill
 Introduction to Molecular Biophysics by J.A. Tuszynski, M. Kurzynski

PHY406 ADVANCED MATHEMATICAL METHODS: 3-1-0-4

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1. Group Theory
Basic definition of groups and subgroups. Homomorphism and isomorphism between
groups, finite and infinite groups, conjugate classes, invariant subgroups and coset
spaces. Representation of groups. unitary representation, character of a
representation.Permutation group and Young' Tableaux. Elements of Lie Groups.
unitary groups, orthogonal groups, homogeneous and inhomogeneous Lorentz groups,
Wigner's little group and concept of helicity etc., conformal groups, symplectic groups.
Local properties of Lie groups, infinitesimal group generators, Lie algebra, Adjoint
representations, simple and semisimple Lie algebras, Casimir operators. Elementary
ideas of root vectors, Cartan subalgebra, graph- ical representations, weight vectors.
Dynkin diagrams and Cartan matrices.

2. Differential Geometry
Concept of differentiable manifolds, tangent and cotangent spaces(one forms), tensors
and tensor product spaces. Calculus of forms, exterior differentiation, Lie
differentiation, co-variant derivatives and connections, parallel displacements and
geodesics. Torsion and curvature. cartan's equations of structure and metric tensor.
Symmetries of Riemann curvature tensor. Elementary theories of fibre bundles and
connection between gravity and gauge theories.

Reference books:
 S. Mukhi & N. Mukunda, Introduction to topology, and differential geometry and
group theory for physicists
 B. C. Hall, Lie Groups and representations
 Y. Choquet-Bruhat et al, Analysis, Manifolds & Physics

PHY407 ADVANCED QUANTUM FIELD THEORY: 3-1-0-4

 Relativistic notations.
 SU(2) and the rotation group.
 Lorentz Group and SL(2,C).
 Homogeneous and Inhomogeneous Lorentz Group and their Algebras.
 Spinors.
 Relativistic Covariant Equations- Klein Gordon, Dirac and Maxwell equations.
 Quantization of free fields: Canonical and Path Integral Approach.
 Covariant quantisation of the Maxwell field.
 Interacting Fields and the Gauge Principle.
 Feynman-Dyson Perturbation Expansion and Feynman Diagrams.
 Quantum Electro-Dynamics. Tree Level Calculations of Compton Scattering
Cross-section etc.
 Loops, Divergences, Regularization and Renormalization.
 Anomalous magnetic moment of the electron and the Lamb-Shift.

Reference books:
 Q. F. Theory by Hatfield
 Q. F. Theory by L. Ryder

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 Q. F. Theory by s. Weinberg
 Q. F. Theory by Peskin & Schroder

PHY408 ADVANCED STATISTICAL PHYSICS: 3-1-0-4

Critical Phenomena: Mean Field Theory, Landau Ginzburg Theory, Renormalization Group,
Ising Model in one and two dimensions.
Superconductivity and Superfluidity.
Approach to equilibrium: Boltzmann transport equation, Langevin equation, master equation
approach, Fokker Planck equation.

Reference books:

 K. Huang, Statistical Mechanics

 S.K Ma, Statistical Mechanics

PHY409 MAGNETISM AND SUPERCONDUCTIVITY: 3-1-0-4

Generalized Hamiltonian of Condensed Matter Physics and origin of various "effective

theories"; Introduction to phenomenon of Superconductivity; Experimental features; Various
phenomenological theories; Cooper's one pair problem; Gateway to microscopic theories -
BCS Fermion pairing theory and BSB Bose Condensation theory; BCS ground state; Mean field
treatment of BCS Hamiltonian; Gap equation and its solution; Equation for critical
temperature; Brief applications of BCS theory to various experiments; Brief introduction to
exotic phenomena like interplay of superconductivity and magnetism, high temperature
superconductivity etc.

In addition to the above, some lectures at a more advanced level will be offered.

Reference books:
 "Theory of Superconductivity" by J.R. Schrieffer.
 "Solid State Physics" by N. Ashcroft and N.D. Mermin.
 "Introduction to Solid State Physics" by C. Kittel.
 "Quantum Theory of Solids" by C. Kittel.
 "Quantum Theory of Many Particle Systems" by G.D. Mahan.
 "Elementary Excitations" by D. Pines

PHY410 NON-LINEAR DYNAMICS: 3-1-0-4

Discrete and continuous time dynamical systems. Flows and maps; phase space, orbits; fixed
points, eventually periodic points and their stability attractors and repellors: hyperbolicity;
logistic map, tent map, Baker's map; graphical analysis of orbits in one dimensional maps;
maps of the circle: rotation number.

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General solution of the continuous time linear systems, bifurcations in one dimensional
systems, phase space trajectories in two dimensional: stable and unstable nodes and foci:
saddle points, centres, Hartman's theorem.
Poinc are Bendixon Theorem, periodic orbits, anharmonic oscillators, Hopf bifurcations, limit
cycles; sensitive dependence of initial conditions, Chaos.

Reference books:
 S. H Strogatz, Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos, 1994
 K. T Alligood, T. D Sauer and J A Yorke, Chaos: An Introduction to Dynamical
Systems, 1997

PHY411 OPTICAL PHYSICS: 3-1-0-4

NONLINEAR and QUANTUM OPTICS:
 Classical linear and nonlinear optics:
 Anharmonic oscillator model, nonlinear susceptibilities, absorption, dispersion,
nonlinear wave mixing, coupled mode equations, phase matching condition, phase
conjugation, optical bistability.
 Few-level atom models: semiclassical theory
 Two-level atom, optical Bloch equations, steady state response, probe amplification
and resonance fluorescence, semiclassical dressed states. Population trapping.
Coherent transient phenomena such as optical nutation, photon echoes, self-induced
transparency.
 Interaction between atoms and quantized fields:
 Quantization of the electromagnetic field, Jaynes-Cummings model, dressed states,
vacuum field Rabi oscillations, collapses and revivals, spontaneous emission in free
space, density of states, Fermi Golden Rule and Wigner-Weiskopf theory. Inhibition of
spontaneous emission.
 Some remarks on unconventional cavities such as dielectric microspheres and photonic
bandgap structures.
 Quantum theory of four-wave mixing and parametric down-conversion.
 Coherent control of atom-field interactions - electromagnetically induced
transparency, lasing without inversion.

LASER THEORY AND OPTICAL COHERENCE:

 Spontaneous and stimulated emission, modes of a cavity, population inversion,
saturated gain and threshold, Doppler broadening, Lamb dip, hole burning, single
mode laser master equation (Scully-Lamb theory), laser photon statistics and laser
linewidth. Micromaser and microlaser.
 Classical and Quantum Coherence functions:
1. Young’s double slit experiment, mutual coherence function, complex degree of
coherence, van Cittert-Zernike theorem, Hanbury-Brown- Twiss experiment, higher-
order coherence functions.
2. Polarization properties of quasi-monochromatic light - coherency matrix, degree of
polarization, Stokes parameters, Poincare sphere.
3. Quantum Coherence functions a la Glauber - coherent states, sub-poissonian statistics,
photon antibunching and squeezed states of light.

ATOMIC MOTION IN LASER LIGHT:

Atom cooling and trapping; atom interferometry; Bose-Einstein condensation of laser-cooled
and trapped atoms, Atom lasers, Nonlinear atom optics, optical lattices.

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Reference books:
 “The Quantum Theory of Light” by R. Loudon
 “Nonlinear Optics” by R. W. Boyd
 “Laser Physics” by P. W. Milonni, J. H. Eberly
 “Elements of Quantum Optics” by P. Meystre & M. Sargent
 “Introductory Quantum Optics” by C. Gerry & P. Knight
 “Quantum Optics” by D. F. Walls & G. J. Milburn
 “Quantum Optics” by M. O. Scully & M. S. Zubairy
 “Quantum Optics” by G. S. Agarwal
 “Atom Optics” by P. Meystre
 “Laser Cooling and Trapping” by H. J. Metcalf & P. van der Straten

Recommended reading:
 “Optical Coherence and Quantum Optics” by L. Mandel, E. Wolf

PHY412 PHYSICS OF MATERIALS: 3-1-0-4

 Physics of Materials:

Metals (M) and Insulators (I)

A. BAND INSULATORS vs CORRELATED INSULATORS
- Breakdown of independent electron description
- Mott transition
- Hubbard model
- Limiting cases of Hubbard models - band limit & atomic limit,
Hubbard sub-bands
- Mott transitions in transition metal oxides
- Mott insulators & charge transfer insulator,
Zaanen-Sawatzky-Allen classification
B. LARGE-U LIMIT
- Canonical transformation
- t-J model, Super-exchange
- Half-filled band : Heisenberg spin model
- Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model : spin waves,
strange world of D=1
C. SOME INTERESTING SYSTEMS
- Band-width-control M-I transition systems: V2O3, RNiO3, NiS etc
- Filling control M-I transition systems: R_{1-x}A_{x}Ti(V)O3
- High Tc super-conducting cuprates
- Quasi one-dimensional systems: Cu-O chain & ladder compounds
- Double-exchange systems: R_{1-x}A_{x}MnO3
D. DISORDER INDUCED INSULATORS
- Anderson Localization
- Scaling theory
- Electron-electron interaction & disorder

References:
 Patrik Fazekas -- Lecture notes on Electron Correlation & Magn.

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 Imada, Fujimori, Tokura -- Metal-Insulator Transitions, Review. Mod. Phys. vol 70, pg
1039 (1998)
 P.A. Lee & T.V. Ramakrishnan -- Disordered electronic system, Review. Mod. Phys. vol
57, pg 287 (1985)
 Fulde -- Electron correlation in Molecules and Solids

 Electronic Structure of Materials

A. BASICS
1. Electrons in periodic potentials
- Bloch's theorem
- Kronig-Penney model
- concept of energy bands

2. Density of states
- Green's function
- Tridiagonal matrices & Continued fractions
- Singularities in DOS

3. Reciprocal lattice & Brillouin zone

- Special k-points in BZ sampling
B. EL-ION PROBLEM
4. Adiabatic approximation (Born-Oppenheimer).
5. Classical nuclei approximation (Ehrenfest Theorem).
6. Hellman-Feynman force on nuclei.
C. MANY-ELECTRON PROBLEM
7. Hartree approximation
- LCAO method
8. Hartree-Fock approx.
- Slater-determinantal wavefunction & its properties
- Hartree-Fock equation
- Fock operator
- Energy of the groundstate
- Koopman's theorem
9. Going beyond Hartree-Fock (introductory)
- absence of correlation in H-F theory
- Basics of MCI and Perturbative (Moller-Plesset) methods
10. Density Functional Theory
- Energy as a functional of density : basic concepts
- Thomas-Fermi theory
- Hohenberg-Kohn Theorem
- Kohn-Sham Eqn.
- LDA for the exchange-correlation function
D. MOLECULAR DYNAMICS METHODS IN ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
11. Introduction to MD methods
- Deterministic vs. Stochastic methods
- Connection to statistical mechanics & thermodynamics
- Finite difference algorithms for solving eqns. of motion
- running and controlling MD simulations
- Limitations & errors in MD simulation
12. Tight-binding MD
- Eqn of motion in TB-MD
13. Ab-initio (Car-Parrinello) MD

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- Basic concepts and effective Lagrangian

- Eqn of motion
- Iterative solution of Kohn-Sham eqn
E. EXPERIMENTAL MANIFESTATION OF ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
- Theory of photoemission
- Core-levels and Final states
- Satellites
- Valance band
- Band structure
- Surface states and surface effects

Reference books:
 Ashcroft & Mermin -- Solid State Physics
 Grosso & Pastore-Parravicini -- Solid State Theory
 Kaxiras -- Electronic Structure of Solids
 Sutton -- Electronic Structure of Materials
 Fulde -- Electron correlation in Molecules and Solids

PHY413 QUANTUM INFORMATION THEORY: 3-1-0-4

Foundations of quantum theory; states, observables, measurement, dynamics. Spin-half
systems and photon polarizations, qubits versus classical bits. Pure and mixed states, density
matrices. Orthogonal measurements, positive operator valued measures. Unitary evolution,
extension to superoperators. Master equation and decoherence. Quantum measurement.

Quantum entanglement, Bell’s theorems. Classical information theory, entropy. Quantum

information theory, quantification of entanglement, communication complexity. Quantum
cryptography and teleportation. Turing machines, reversible computation, universal logic
gates and circuits. Quantum computers and circuits. Quantum algorithms: search, FFT, prime
factorisation. Quantum simulations. Quantum error correction and codes. Faulttolerant
quantum computation. Physical implementations: ion traps, quantum dots, cavity QED, NMR.

Reference books:
 J. Preskill, http://www.theory.caltech.edu/people/preskill/ph229
 Peres, Quantum Theory: Concepts and Methods.

PHY414 THEORY OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES: 3-1-0-4

1. Preliminaries
a)Relativity – notation, kinematics;
b)Particles as fields, Lagrangians and interactions;
c)Examples of scattering and decay processes;
d)Scattering cross-section and decay rate calculation;

2. Groups and Symmetries (briefly)

a)Definition of a group, matrix groups, direct product;
b)Lie group, generator, Lie algebra, representation;
c)SU(2) & SU(3), their representations, graphical representation;
d)Internal symmetries and particles as representation;
e)Symmetries and interactions;

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3. PCT
a)P,C,T in QM;
b)P,C,T for Klein-Gordon, Dirac and Maxwell Equations (all as classical fields);
c)P,C,T for quantum fields and their interactions;
d)P,C,T violating terms in the Lagrangian;
4. SU(2)
a)Isospin and SU(2), nucleons, pions, composites;
b)Isospin in scattering and decay processes;
c)Isospin violations in electromagnetic and weak interactions;
d)Isospin of strange particles, charge and I3;

5. SU(3)
a)Isospin, Hypercharge and SU(3), quarks;
b)Eightfold way, octets and decuplet for mesons and baryons;
c)Existence of color;

6. Strangeness
a)Strangeness selection rules;
b)Weak interactions and strangeness;
c)K decays and mixing;
d)CP, long and short K;
e)Strangeness oscillations;

7. Weak Interactions
a)P violation, helicity and left-handed particles;
b)Weak interactions of quarks;
c)V-A interactions;
d)CP violation;

Reference books:
 O. M. Boyarkin: Advanced particle physics
 P. B. Pal: An introductory course of particle physics
 A. Bettini: Introduction to elementary particle physics
 T. P. Cheng and L. F. Li: Gauge theory of elementary particle physics.

PHY 415 MESOSCOPIC PHYSICS: 3-1-0-4

 History of the subject, fabrication techniques, basic differences between semi-
conductors and metals.
 Quantum wave guides, effective mass approximation, Landauer-Buttiker approach to
conductance, Comparison with Kubo formalism, violation of Onsager reciprocity
relations, conductance quantization in point contacts, conductance quantization in
superlattices, conductance quantization in modulated quantum wires.
 Breit-Wigner resonance and Fano resonance, delay time for resonances, Friedel sum
rule, Levinson’s theorem.
 Bound states in the continuum, weak and strong localization in disordered systems,
Thouless energy scale, decoherence at 0 K.
 Persistent currents in closed and open systems, parity effect and its violation for
persistent currents, temperature dependence of persistent currents, effect of disorder
and electronelectron interactions on persistent currents.

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 Integral and fractional Quantum Hall effect and conductance quantization.

 Quantum dots, electronic states in quantum dots, Hund’s rule in a quantum dot,
transport across quantum dots (capacitance approach), Kondo problem in a quantum
dot, level statistics in a quantum dot and Random Matrix Theory.
 Luttiger liquid in 1D.
 Noises in mesoscopic systems, Nyquist-Johnson noise, shot noise, 1/f noise.
 Definition of mesoscopic superconductivity in terms of Ginzburg-Landau theory,
Ginzburg-Landau limit and London limit, phase transitions- magnetization and heat
capacity of mesoscopic superconductors, Giant vortex state and mixed vortex state,
proximity effect and Andreev reflection.

Reference books:
 Electronic Transport in Mesoscopic Systems by Supriyo Datta
 Introduction to Mesoscopic Physics by Yoseph Imry

SUBSEQUENT SEMESTERS
Subsequent semesters will be essentially devoted to research activities in the chosen topics and
from time to time courses on Special Topics at an advanced level will be offered to broaden
and deepen the base of the research scholars.

The actual courses offered will vary from year to year depending on the choice of
specialization made by the students in consultation with the Students’ Curriculum and
Research Evaluation Committee (SCREC), availability of teachers, and topicality of the
subject etc.

This updated Course Structure has been approved by the Academic Council and the
Board of Studies for the Integrated Ph.D Programme (IPhD) in a meeting held on 5 th
May 2011 at the S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences and submitted to the
University of Calcutta for inclusion as regular curriculum for the M.Sc. in Physical
Sciences being the first two years of the Integrated Ph.D Programme in Physical
Sciences (IPhD-Ph).

BISWAJIT CHAKRABORTY
PROFESSOR & DEAN (ACADEMIC PROGRAMME)
S N BOSE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR BASIC SCIENCES

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