C6 Homepage 2020/2021

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

COVID update: in 2020-2021 academic year (and possibly beyond) all classes (lectures and tutorials) will be online

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

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

C6 & AQT Michaelmas Term Lecturer: Sid Parameswaran <sid.parameswaran@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

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

Trinity Term - 2021 update: revision tutorials for C6-AQT students will be held in weeks 3 and 5.

The schedule and the contact information of tutors are below.

Please use the following Zoom link for all sessions:

https://zoom.us/j/96689887411?pwd=RHdJbWE4d1hXL2VOdVFuMFVuTFpXdz09

Meeting ID: 966 8988 7411 Passcode: C6

The list of tutorial groups is available here. If you don't see your name there, please contact one of the tutors directly.

Tutorial group 1 (tutor - Sirui Ning, sirui.ning@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk: Monday, 17:00-18:30

Tutorial group 2 (tutor - Michael Nee, michael.nee@physics.ox.ac.uk): Tuesday, 17:00-18:30

Tutorial group 3 (tutor - Silvia Ferrario Ravasio, silvia.ferrarioravasio@physics.ox.ac.uk): Wednesday, 17:00-18:30

Tutorial group 4 (tutor - Saraswat Bhattacharyya, saraswat.bhattacharyya@lincoln.ox.ac.uk): Thursday, 17:00-18:30

Tutorial group 5 (tutor - Filippo Revello, filippo.revello@physics.ox.ac.uk): Friday, 17:00-18:30

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

Also, revision sessions for C6-AQT students will be held by Prof Parameswaran (week 4) and Prof Starinets (week 6).

Revision class by Prof Parameswaran:

We will have a revision session from 14.00-17.00 on Wednesday, May 19 (Week 4).

The revision will cover 1-2 past papers, as well as address any questions from students.

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/94952428142

Students can also post any questions in advance of the lecture on Padlet: https://padlet.com/siddharthap/4pcql4i1432uhzz

The session will be recorded and made available via Panopto.

2019 C6-AQT Exam solution notes (pdf)

Revision class by Prof Starinets (week 6): Wednesday, 2 June, 4 pm

Topic: C6 Revision Lecture

Time: Jun 2, 2021 16:00 London

The revision lecture will focus on topics relevant for the QFT part of 2021 C6 Exam. You may also submit questions in advance via GoogleDoc here or by emailing andrei.starinets@physics.ox.ac.uk Questions will be answered at lecturer's discretion, if there is time.

C6 Revision Lecture Zoom Session recording (2 June 2021)

C6 Revision Lecture notes (pdf file)

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

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 (Sid Parameswaran)

MT-2020 VIDEO INTRODUCTION

MT-2020 TUTORIAL GROUPS

In addition to lectures, there will be 3 tutorials (in weeks 4,6,8) in MT-2020. There are 4 tutorial groups for each of the 3 weeks:

Tutorial group 1 (tutor - Max McGinley, maximilian.mcginley@physics.ox.ac.uk): Tuesday, 17:00-18:30

Tutorial group 2 (tutor - Michael Nee, michael.nee@physics.ox.ac.uk): Wednesday, 17:00-18:30

Tutorial group 3 (tutor - Saraswat Bhattacharyya, saraswat.bhattacharyya@lincoln.ox.ac.uk): Thursday, 17:00-18:30

Tutorial group 4 (tutor - Sirui Ning, sirui.ning@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk): Friday, 17:00-18:30

All tutorials will be online (via Zoom). For details such as the deadlines for homework submission, please contact the tutor of your group.

Tutorial groups list can be found here. If you have not signed up for one of the groups, but would like to do so, please submit your request to the tutor of the group you prefer, with cc to Andrei Starinets (andrei.starinets@physics.ox.ac.uk).

MT-2020 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-2021 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-2021 Revision Problems Sheets

1. MT-material revision problems

2. HT-material revision problems