# Syllabus

## Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

## Aim of the Course

The aim of the course is two-fold. First, we shall discuss topics of interest for both condensed matter and atomic physics, focussing on the effects of quantum statistics, interactions, and correlations in many-particle systems. Our second goal will be to provide a gentle introduction to the methods of quantized fields and their applications in many-body physics. We shall try to emphasize the physical and visualizable aspects of the subject. While the course is intended for students with a wide range of interests, many examples will be drawn from condensed matter physics.

## Prerequisites

Statistical Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics, introductory level courses, such as 8.044 (Statistical Physics I), 8.08 (Statistical Physics II), and 8.04 (Quantum Physics I).

## Course Topics

- Bose Condensates (Quasiparticles, Collective Modes, Superfluidity, Vortices)
- Fermi Gases and Liquids, Collective Excitations
- Cooper Pairing (BCS Theory, Off-diagonal Long-range Order, Superconductivity)
- Atom Interacting with an Optical Field
- Lamb Shift, Casimir Effect
- Dicke Superradiance
- Quantum Transport and Wave Scattering in Disordered Media, Localization
- Tunneling and Instantons
- Macroscopic Quantum Systems, Coupling to a Thermal Bath
- Spin-boson Model, Tunneling and Localization
- Kondo Effect
- Spin Dynamics and Transport in Gases and Solids
- Cold Atoms in Optical Lattices
- Quantum Theory of Photodetection and Electric Noise

## Recommended Text

Stone, Michael. The Physics of Quantum Fields. Springer, 2000.

## Problem Sets

Weekly, 13 problem sets in total, due the first session of the week, in class (at the beginning of the lecture).

## Term Paper

A list of term paper topics will be provided and discussed in class.

## Grade

Grading information.
ACTIVITY | PERCENTAGE
--- | ---
Problem Sets | 60%
Term Paper | 40%