C6 Homepage 2020/2021

Homepage for C6 & AQT - Theoretical Physics & Advanced Quantum Theory

COVID update (as of September 2021): in 2021-2022 academic year, normal (not online) mode is planned for all classes

Please follow updates and instructions from the Physics Teaching Office

Contacts (before you contact someone, please read the simple guidelines to ensure you receive an answer quickly):

C6 Coordinator and Hilary Term Lecturer: Prof Andrei Starinets <andrei.starinets@physics.ox.ac.uk>

C6 & AQT Michaelmas Term Lecturer: Dr Nick Bultinck <Nick.Bultinck@physics.ox.ac.uk>

Physics Teaching Office:

Hannah Glanville <hannah.glanville@physics.ox.ac.uk>

Carrie Leonard-McIntyre <carrie.leonard-mcintyre@physics.ox.ac.uk>

MMathPhys Office

<mathematical.physics@maths.ox.ac.uk>

Trinity Term - 2022 update: revision tutorials for C6-AQT students will be held in weeks 3 (C6-AQT revision tutorial on MT material) and 4, 5 (C6 revision tutorial on HT material). Also, revision lectures for C6-AQT students will be held by Prof Parameswaran (week 4 - Wednesday, 18 May 2022, 2-4 pm, Martin Wood Lecture Theatre) and Prof Starinets (week 6 - Tuesday, 31 May 2022, 5-6:30 pm via Zoom; Meeting ID: 550 048 7816; Zoom link ).

Revision class by Prof Starinets (week 6): Tuesday, 31 May 2022, 5 pm

The revision lecture will focus on topics relevant for the QFT part of 2022 C6 Exam.

C6 Revision Lecture Zoom Session recording (31 May 2022)

C6 Revision Lecture notes (pdf file)

2021 C6 Exam (QFT part) solution notes (pdf)

2019 C6 Exam (QFT part) solution notes (pdf)

Week 3 tutorial groups: Group 1, Group 2, Group 3

Week 4 and week 5 tutorial groups: Group 1, Group 2, Group 3

Revision problem sheets can be found at the bottom of this page. Please return your homework to your tutors as instructed by them.

Week 3 revision tutorials schedule:

Tutorial group 1 (tutor - Max McGinley, maximilian.mcginley@physics.ox.ac.uk): Wednesday, 17:00-18:30, Seminar room 501 DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Tutorial group 2 (tutor - Carolin Wille, carolin.wille@physics.ox.ac.uk): Thursday, 17:00-18:30, Fisher room DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Tutorial group 3 (tutor - Sirui Ning, sirui.ning@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk): Friday, 17:00-18:30, Fisher room DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Week 4 and week 5 revision tutorials schedule:

Tutorial group 1 (tutor - Gowri Kurup, gowri.kurup@physics.ox.ac.uk): week 4 - Wednesday, 17:00-18:30, Fisher room DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Tutorial group 2 (tutor - Liam Gladden, liam.gladden@physics.ox.ac.uk): week 5 - Thursday, 17:00-18:30, Seminar room 501 DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Tutorial group 3 (tutor - Sirui Ning, sirui.ning@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk): week 5 - Friday, 17:00-18:30, Seminar room 501 DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Your tutors will be in contact with various organisational details. If you have questions regarding tutorials, please contact the tutor of your group.

Aims and Objectives of the Course

This course covers both the C6 (Theory) MPhys option (in MT & HT) and the MMathPhys Advanced Quantum Theory course (in MT only). The course is intended to give an introduction to some aspects of classical and quantum field theory, many-body systems and related issues. It also serves as an introduction to the path integral technique. These form the basis of our current theoretical understanding of particle physics, condensed matter and statistical physics. An aim is to present some core ideas and important applications in a unified way. The applications include classical mechanics of continuum systems, quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics of many-particle systems, and some basic aspects of relativistic quantum field theory.

Course Structure

MICHAELMAS TERM: Schedule of classes, problem sheets, lecture notes and other materials (lecturer - Dr Nick Bultinck)

HILARY TERM: Schedule of classes, problem sheets, lecture notes and other materials (lecturer - Prof Andrei Starinets)

TRINITY TERM: Revision classes (details below)

MT-2021 TUTORIAL GROUPS

In addition to lectures, there will be 3 tutorials (in weeks 4,6,8) in MT-2021.

Tutorial classes are in weeks 4, 6, 8. Problem sheets are available below. The schedule and the tutorial groups list can be found here. If you do not see your name there but would like to join a tutorial group or switch groups, please contact the relevant tutors (see below) with cc to andrei.starinets@physics.ox.ac.uk

Tutorial group 1 (tutor - Sirui Ning, sirui.ning@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk): Monday, 17:00-18:30, Seminar room 501 DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Tutorial group 2 (tutor - Carolin Wille, carolin.wille@physics.ox.ac.uk): Tuesday, 17:00-18:30, Seminar room 501 DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Tutorial group 3 (tutor - Max McGinley, maximilian.mcginley@physics.ox.ac.uk): Wednesday, 17:00-18:30, Seminar room 501 DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Tutorial group 4 (tutor - Michael Nee, michael.nee@physics.ox.ac.uk): Thursday, 17:00-18:30, Seminar room 501 DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Tutorial group 5 (tutor - Michele Fava, michele.fava@physics.ox.ac.uk), Friday, 17:00-18:30, Seminar room 501 DWB (Denys Wilkinson Building)

Your tutors will be in contact with various organisational details. If you have questions regarding tutorials, please contact the tutor of your group.

MT-2021 Topics

1. Functionals: Mathematical background

2. Path integrals in quantum mechanics

3. Path integrals in quantum statistical mechanics

4. Path integrals and Feynman diagrams

5. Ising model and transfer matrices in 1D

6. 2D Ising model

7. Second quantisation

8. Ideal Fermi gas

9. Weakly interacting bosons

10. Bogliubov excitations and spin waves

11. Spin waves. Path integral for bosons

12. Phase transitions. Ising model and mean-field theory

13. Critical behavior and universality. Landau theory

14. Beyond Landau theory: fluctuations

15. Fluctuations. Other phase transitions

16. Stochastic processes

HILARY TERM: Schedule of classes, problem sheets, lecture notes and other materials (Andrei Starinets)

HT-2022 Topics

1. Classical field theory

2. Symmetries of the action. Noether's theorem

3. Spontaneous symmetry breaking. Goldstone's theorem

4. Canonical quantization of fields

5. Path integrals in quantum field theory

6. Interacting quantum fields

5. Feynman diagrams

6. Examples of interacting quantum field theories

TRINITY TERM: REVISIONS

TT- 2022 Revision Problems Sheets

1. MT-material revision problems

2. HT-material revision problems