Condensed Matter Physics I

Condensed Matter Physics I

Syllabus (spring, 2004)

The course follows roughly some chapters from Charles Kittel's

book, Introduction to Solid State Physics, seventh edition, or
from Neil W. Ashcroft and N. David Mermin, Solid State
Physics. Here is an outline:

● Chapter 1, Kittel, or Chapter 4, A&M: Crystal lattices

● Chapter 2, Kittel, or Chapter 5, A&M: Reciprocal lattice
● Chapter 17, Kittel: Noncrystalline solids (pages 521-529;
to Amorphous Ferromagnets)
● Chapter 18: Point defects and elasticity
● Lecture notes: basics of elasticity theory
● Chapter 20: Dislocations
● Chapter 4: Phonons I. Crystal vibrations
● Chapter 5: Phonons II. Thermal properties
● Chapter 6: Free electron Fermi gas
● Chapter 7: Energy bands
● Chapter 9: Fermi surfaces and metals (only to page 242:
Electron orbits, hole orbits and open orbits).
● Chapter 12:Basics of superconductivity
● In addition, lectures and exercises.

A few references on quasicrystals

● D. Levine and P. J. Steinhardt, Quasicrystals: A New Class of Ordered Structures, Phys. Rev.
Lett. 53, 2477-2480 (1984).
● D. Levine and P. J. Steinhardt, Quasicrystals. I. Definition and structure, Phys. Rev. B 34, 596-
616 (1986).
● D. Shechtman, I. Blech, D. Gratias, and J. W. Cahn, Metallic Phase with Long-Range
Orientational Order and No Translational Symmetry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 1951-1953 (1984).
● KNUT W. URBAN, Quasicrystals: From tilings to coverings, Nature 396, 14-15 (1998).
● PATRICIA A. THIEL, and JEAN MARIE DUBOIS, Quasicrystals: Electrons in a strange
sea, Nature 406, 570-573 (2000).
● Mark Sincell, Physicists Glimpse How Quasicrystals Boogie, Science 289, 1451 (2000).

http://folk.uio.no/dragos/Solid/FYS230-Exercises.html (1 of 3)28/8/2006 11:45:46

 Condensed Matter Physics I

In addition: lecture notes and exercises, some of which you can find below.

Other books of interest are:

1. Neil W. Ashcroft, N. David
Mermin, Solid State Physics
(Harcourt College Publishers)
2. Harald Ibach, Hans Luth,
Solid-State Physics: An
Introduction to Principles of
Materials Science (Corr Print)
3. J. M. Ziman, Electrons and
Phonons: The Theory of
Transport Phenomena in Solids
(Oxford Classic Texts in the
Physical Sciences)

Exercises: Bravais lattices,

● PostScript Format (all available sets)

● PDF format (all available sets)
● In separate sets, for easy reference;
❍ Set I: PostScript, PDF

❍ Notes on Fourier expansion: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set II: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set III: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set IV: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set V: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set VI: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set VII: PostScript, PDF )

❍ Set VIII: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set IX: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set X: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set XI: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set XII: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set XIII: PostScript, PDF

http://folk.uio.no/dragos/Solid/FYS230-Exercises.html (2 of 3)28/8/2006 11:45:46

 Condensed Matter Physics I

❍ Set XIV: PostScript, PDF

❍ Set XV: PostScript, PDF
❍ Set XVI: PostScript, PDF
❍ Set XVII: PostScript, PDF

Exam 2002: problems (PS, PDF) and solutions(PS, PDF).

Exam 2005: problems (PS, PDF).

Brief lecture notes on the second part, year 2002:

● PostScript Format
● PDF format

A few identities and notations

Important note: the exercises and lecture notes may contain some errors. Eventually these errors will
be eliminated in time, so I appreciate any feed-back. Any comments or corrections (no matter how
small) are welcome at my e-mail address.

Back to my homepage.

Last modified: 5.02.2003

http://folk.uio.no/dragos/Solid/FYS230-Exercises.html (3 of 3)28/8/2006 11:45:46