Physics

Prerequisites: some basic background in calculus or be concurrently taking MATH UN1101 Calculus I. The accompanying laboratory is PHYS UN1291-UN1292 The course will use elementary concepts from calculus. The accompanying laboratory is PHYS UN1291 - UN1292. Basic introduction to the study of mechanics, fluids, thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, optics, special relativity, quantum mechanics, atomic physics, and nuclear physics.

Prerequisites: This course will use elementary concepts from calculus. Students should therefore have had some high school calculus, or be concurrently enrolled in MATH UN1101. Taken with accompanying lab PHYS UN1291- PHYS UN1292, the sequence PHYS UN1201- PHYS UN1202 satisfies requirements for medical school. Electricity, magnetism, optics, and modern physics.

Prerequisites: This course will use elementary concepts from calculus. Students should therefore have had some high school calculus, or be concurrently enrolled in MATH UN1101. Taken with accompanying lab PHYS UN1291- PHYS UN1292, the sequence PHYS UN1201- PHYS UN1202 satisfies requirements for medical school. Electricity, magnetism, optics, and modern physics.

Prerequisites: This course will use elementary concepts from calculus. Students should therefore have had some high school calculus, or be concurrently enrolled in MATH UN1101. Taken with accompanying lab PHYS UN1291- PHYS UN1292, the sequence PHYS UN1201- PHYS UN1202 satisfies requirements for medical school. Electricity, magnetism, optics, and modern physics.

Prerequisites: PHYS W1401. Corequisites: MATH V1102 or the equivalent. Electric fields, direct currents, magnetic fields, alternating currents, electromagnetic waves, polarization, geometrical optics, interference, and diffraction.

Prerequisites: PHYS W1401. Corequisites: MATH V1102 or the equivalent. Electric fields, direct currents, magnetic fields, alternating currents, electromagnetic waves, polarization, geometrical optics, interference, and diffraction.

Prerequisites: PHYS W1401. Corequisites: MATH V1102 or the equivalent. Electric fields, direct currents, magnetic fields, alternating currents, electromagnetic waves, polarization, geometrical optics, interference, and diffraction.

Prerequisites: PHYS UN1601 Corequisite: MATH UN1201 or equivalent. Temperature and heat, gas laws, the first and second laws of thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gases, electric fields, direct currents, magnetic fields, alternating currents, electromagnetic waves. The course is preparatory for advanced work in physics and related fields.

This class is an introduction to electricity, magnetism, circuits, light & optics, with a brief introduction to atomic and nuclear physics. Our goal is to develop an understanding of the principles underlying Nature's richness therein and highlighting, when possible, its relevance in medical & biological contexts.

Charge, electric field, and potential. Gausss law. Circuits: capacitors and resistors. Magnetism and electromagnetism. Induction and inductance. Alternating currents. Maxwells equations. This is a calculus-based class. Familiarity with derivatives and integrals is needed.

PLEASE NOTE:  Students who take PHYS BC2002 may not get credit for PHYS BC2019 or PHYS BC2020.

PHYS BC2020 Electricity & Magnetism -- Lecture Only is required as a pre- or co-requisite for this lab.

Prerequisite: Physics BC2001 or the equivalent.

Charge, electric field, and potential. Gauss's law. Circuits: capacitors and resistors. Magnetism and electromagnetism. Induction and inductance. Alternating currents. Maxwell's equations.  This is a calculus-based class. Familiarity with derivatives and integrals is needed.

Prerequisites: PHYS UN2801 This accelerated two-semester sequence covers the subject matter of PHYS UN1601, PHYS UN1602 and PHYS UN2601, and is intended for those students who have an exceptionally strong background in both physics and mathematics. The course is preparatory for advanced work in physics and related fields. There is no accompanying laboratory; however, students are encouraged to take the intermediate laboratory, PHYS UN3081, in the following year.

Prerequisites: phys UN2601 or phys un2802 Primarily for junior and senior physics majors; other majors must obtain the instructors permission. Each experiment is chosen by the student in consultation with the instructor. Each section meets one afternoon per week, with registration in each section limited by the laboratory capacity. Experiments (classical and modern) cover topics in electricity, magnetism, optics, atomic physics, and nuclear physics.

Prerequisites: phys UN2601 or phys un2802 Primarily for junior and senior physics majors; other majors must obtain the instructors permission. Each experiment is chosen by the student in consultation with the instructor. Each section meets one afternoon per week, with registration in each section limited by the laboratory capacity. Experiments (classical and modern) cover topics in electricity, magnetism, optics, atomic physics, and nuclear physics.

Prerequisites: phys UN2601 or phys un2802 Primarily for junior and senior physics majors; other majors must obtain the instructors permission. Each experiment is chosen by the student in consultation with the instructor. Each section meets one afternoon per week, with registration in each section limited by the laboratory capacity. Experiments (classical and modern) cover topics in electricity, magnetism, optics, atomic physics, and nuclear physics.

The “Quantum Simulation and Computing Lab” will give students hands-on experience in quantum optics, quantum simulation and quantum computing. The course combines lectures, tutorials, and two lab sections. In one lab section, students will do experiments with entangled photons. In the second lab section, students will program quantum computers and run algorithms on them using the IBM Qiskit platform.

The course starts with a recap of linear algebra and quantum mechanics, followed by an introduction to quantum optics and quantum information. Two-level systems, Bloch sphere, quantum gates, and elementary quantum algorithms will be discussed. Quantum teleportation and quantum key distribution will be introduced as applications of entanglement. The lecture content will be directly applied in experiments with entangled photons. In the following, state-of-the-art quantum algorithms will be discussed, related to cutting-edge research results in quantum computing. This includes quantum Fourier transform, quantum simulation of the Schroedinger equation, and the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) algorithm. During the course students will do one experimental project with entangled photons and one quantum programming project. Students will be guided to implement a quantum algorithm of their choice and run it on a quantum computer (IBM, IonQ, QuEra).

Prerequisites: the written permission of the faculty member who agrees to act as supervisor, and the director of undergraduate studies permission. Readings in a selected field of physics under the supervision of a faculty member. Written reports and periodic conferences with the instructor.

Prerequisites: Permission of the departmental representative required. For specially selected students, the opportunity to do a research problem in contemporary physics under the supervision of a faculty member. Each year several juniors are chosen in the spring to carry out such a project beginning in the autumn term. A detailed report on the research is presented by the student when the project is complete.

This course is the second course of a two-semester sequence that provides a rigorous, master's-level foundation in quantum mechanics, uniquely structured for an interdisciplinary cohort of physicists, engineers, and computer scientists. The course pivots from isolated systems covered in the first course to the realistic, noisy environments that define modern quantum technology. Students will master the density matrix formalism, the physics of open quantum systems, the thermodynamics of decoherence, and the Lindblad master equation to understand exactly how the physical environment degrades stored quantum information. Rather than treating errors as abstract mathematical operations, modern quantum hardware platforms—including superconducting transmons, dynamically reconfigurable Rydberg atom arrays, and trapped ions—will be analyzed to study the real-world physics of quantum memory and signal transmission. We will start by asking “What happens when two quantum systems interact?” (entanglement). Then we will ask, “What happens if we can only look at one of them?” (density matrix and partial trace). Finally, we will ask, “What happens if the second system is the entire rest of the universe?” (open systems, decoherence, and the Lindblad equation). Ultimately, this sequence equips students with the conceptual maturity required to engage with state-of-the-art quantum hardware, experimental device physics, and condensed matter research.

The “Quantum Simulation and Computing Lab” will give students in the Quantum Masters program hands-on experience in quantum optics, quantum simulation and quantum computing. The course combines lectures, tutorials, and two lab sections. In one lab section, students will do experiments with entangled photons. In the second lab section, students will program quantum computers and run algorithms on them using the IBM Qiskit platform.

The course starts with a recap of linear algebra and quantum mechanics, followed by an introduction to quantum optics and quantum information. Two-level systems, Bloch sphere, quantum gates, and elementary quantum algorithms will be discussed. Quantum teleportation and quantum key distribution will be introduced as applications of entanglement. The lecture content will be directly applied in experiments with entangled photons. In the following, state-of-the-art quantum algorithms will be discussed, related to cutting-edge research results in quantum computing. This includes quantum Fourier transform, quantum simulation of the Schroedinger equation, and the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) algorithm. During the course students will do one experimental project with entangled photons and one quantum programming project. Students will be guided to implement a quantum algorithm of their choice and run it on a quantum computer (IBM, IonQ, QuEra).

Course Summary: the quantum many-body problem and its the conceptual formulation in terms of functional integrals, the basics of perturbative calculations at both zero and non-zero temperature, mean field theory and its interpretation as a saddle point of a functional integral, fluctuations including collective modes, the field theory of linear response and transport calculations and the new features associated with nonequilibrium physics.

Quantum optics, including: quantiziation of the electromagnetic field, open quantum systems, light-matter interaction, coherent control, collective phenomena, measurement theory and decoherence, and applications in quantum information science.

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