Undergraduate courses

Graduate courses:  MS, PhD

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

PHYS 101 - Introductory Physics I
Credits:  4.00
4.0; 4 cr. Annually. Pre- or co-requisite: MATH 101.  Measurements, motion in one dimension, vectors, motion in two dimensions, Newton's laws with applications, work and energy, circular motion, linear momentum and collisions, rotation and angular momentum, oscillations, gravity, elements of fluid mechanics. More
 

PHYS 101L - Introductory Physics Lab. I
Credits. 1.00
0.2; 1 cr.  Annually. Pre- or co-requisite: PHYS 101. Error analysis, measuring devices, speed and acceleration, measurement of gravitational acceleration forces, friction, circular motion, conversation of momentum, conservation of energy, ballistic pendulum, rotation, simple harmonic motion. More
 

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PHYS 103 - Physics for the Life Sciences
Credits:  3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Units and dimensions, scalars and vectors, kinematics in one and two dimensions, dynamics, work and energy, collisions, gravitation, and rotational motion. More
 

PHYS 200 - Understanding the Universe
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Restricted to undergraduate arts students. An introductory course in Astronomy. Basic astronomical tools, properties of the earth, solar system, sun, electromagnetic radiation, stars: properties and evolution, Milky Way galaxy. More
 

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PHYS 204 - Classical Physics for Life Science
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Prerequisite: PHYS 103 (or equivalent). Fluids, heat and heat engines, gas dynamics, wave phenomena, sound, and light. More

 

PHYS 204L - Classic Physics For Life Science Lab.
Credits: 1.00
0.2; 1 cr. Annually. Pre- or co-requisite: PHYS 204. Techniques of laboratory work. Surface tension, coefficient of viscosity, gas thermometer, Boyle's law, adiabatic compression of gases, mechanical equivalent of heat, waves on a stretched string, standing waves in air columns, geometrical optics I: reflection and refraction, geometrical optics II: mirrors & lenses, Michelson interferometer, interference & diffraction. More
 

PHYS 205 - Modern Physics for Life Science
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Prerequisite: PHYS 103 (or equivalent). Electricity: electric field and electric potential, electric current and circuits, capacitance. Magnetism: Magnetic field , magnetic materials, electromagnetic induction, electromagnetism applied to biological systems. Introduction to special relativity, atoms and atomic structure, nuclei, and radioactivity. More
 

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PHYS 205L - Modern Physics for Life Science Lab.
Credits: 1.00
3.0; 3 cr. Pre- or co-requisite: PHYS 205. Electric field mapping, capacitance and dielectric constants, basic oscilloscope operations, Wheatstone bridge, RC and RL circuits, measurements of magnetic induction fields, measurement of the charge to mass ratio of electrons, RC and RLC-circuits, Ohm's law, Planck's constant, atomic spectroscopy, and classical scattering. More

 

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PHYS 210 - Introductory Physics II
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Pre- or co-requisite: MATH 201. Fluid statics, fluid dynamics, temperature, heat and first law of thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gases, heat engines, entropy and second law of thermodynamics, general properties of waves, sound waves and resonances, light and optics, interference, diffraction and polarization. More

PHYS 210L - Introductory Physics Lab. II
Credits: 1.00
0.2; 1 cr. Pre- or co-requisite: PHYS 210.  Surface tension, gas thermometer, mechanical equivalent of heat, Boyle's law, adiabatic compression of gases, measurement of gamma for air and fluid gas, standing waves on a stretched string, standing waves in air columns, geometrical optics: law of refraction and prism, mirrors and lenses, interference and diffraction, the spectrometer, and polarization.

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PHYS 211 - Electricity & Magnetism
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Pre- or c-requisite: MATH 201. Electrostatics, current, resistance, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's laws, RC circuits, magnetostatic theory, Ampere's law, Biot-Savart law, Faraday's law, LR circuit, RLC circuits, and a qualitative discussion of Maxwell's equations. More
 

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PHYS 211L - Electricity & Magnetism Lab.
Credits: 1.00
0.2; 1 cr. Annually. Pre- or co-requisite: PHYS 211. Electric fields, capacitance and dielectric constant measurements, construction and calibration of ammeters and voltmeters, electrical circuits, Wheatstone bridge, potentiometer, Thomson's experiment, measurement of the force between two parallel current-carrying conductors, measurement of magnetic induction fields, basic oscilloscope operations, RL , RC and RLC circuits. More
 

PHYS 212 - Modern Physics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Pre- or co-requisite: MATH 201. Special theory of relativity, introductory quantum mechanics , atomic physics, nuclear physics, introduction to elementary particles. More
 

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PHYS 217 - Mechanics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Prerequisite: MATH 202. Kinematics of particles motion, Newtonian formulation of mechanics, integration of Newtonian equations of motion, Lagrangian formulation of mechanics, Hamilton dynamics, central forces, linear oscillations, nonlinear oscillations and chaos, collisions, noninertial systems, coupled oscillations, motion of rigid bodies. More
 

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PHYS 220 - Electromagnetic Theory
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Pre-requisite: MATH 202. Electrostatics: electric potential, Gauss' law, Poisson's and Laplace's equations, boundary conditions, electric currents, Faraday's law, Lenz's law, mutual inductance. Maxwell's equations, and propagation of of electromagnetic waves. More

 

PHYS 221L - Junior Lab
Credits: 2.00
0.4; 2 cr.  Annually.  Experiments selected from the topics of diffraction, e/m ratio, magnetic field, RL, RC, RLC circuits, ohmic and non-ohmic devices, atomic spectroscopy, Milikan's experiment, Frank-Hertz experiment, speed of sound, gravitational acceleration, Planck's constant, and physical optics. More
 

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PHYS 222 - Computational Physics
Credits: 3.00
0.3; 3 cr. Annually. Prerequisites: MATH 201, MATH 202, and CMPS 200 (or equivalent). Basics of numerical analysis: quadrature, solutions of algebraic and transcendental equations, methods for solving systems of linear equations, methods for solving differential equation, and scholastic methods. Applications: planetary motion, simple models of stars, nonlinear dynamics and chaos, potentials and fields, waves, random systems, computational fluid dynamics, statistical mechanics (phase transitions, Ising model), molecular dynamics, and quantum mechanics.

 

PHYS 223 - Physical Optics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually.  Wave theory of light, Maxwell's equations, superposition and polarization, interference, interferometers, diffraction, coherence, lasers, and holography. More

 

PHYS 226 - Solid State Physics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Prerequisite: PHYS 235 & 236. Electrons in one-dimensional periodic lattice, vibrations in one-dimensional periodic lattice, geometrical description of crystals, free-electron theory in metals, excitons, and plasmons, polarons, lattice dynamics, semi-conductors, magnetic ordering, superconductivity, and electron gas in a magnetic field. More
 

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PHYS 228 - Electronics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Students may not get credit for this course unless they take PHYS 228L. DC linear circuits, capacitors, inductors and transients, periodic waveforms, power supplies, operational amplifier, logic gates, timers, multiplexers, flip-flops, and counting circuits. More

PHYS 228L - Electronics Lab.
Credits: 1.00
0.3; 1 cr. Pre- or co-requisite: PHYS 228. DC Measurements, periodic waveforms, power supplies, transients, frequency and period measurements, operational amplifiers, and some digital circuits. More
 

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PHYS 231 - Selected Topics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. May be repeated for credit. More
 

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PHYS 232 - Selected Topics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. May be repeated for credit. More
 

PHYS 235 - Statistical Physics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Prerequisite:  PHYS 210.  Boltzmann distribution, Gibbs distribution, thermal radiation, heat and work, kinetic theory of gases, entropy and temperature, statistical mechanics of semiconductors, kinetics of chemical reactions, and phase transitions. More

 

PHYS 236 - Quantum Mechanics

Credits:  3.00

3.0; 3 cr. Annually.  Prerequisites:  MATH 224 (or equivalent) and PHYS 212. Fundamental concepts:  Bras, Kets, matrix representation of operators, change of basis; quantum dynamics:  time evolution of quantum mechanical systems, spin; translational and rotational symmetry:  Schroedinger equation in one and three dimensions; spherical symmetric systems:  three-dimensional oscillator, hydrogen atom; theory of angular momentum:  rotation operator, addition of angular momenta; time-independent perturbation theory, Zeeman effect, Stark effect, spin-orbit coupling, time-dependent perturbation theory, variational methods. More

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PHYS 248 - Undergraduate Seminar
Credits: 1.00
1.0; 1 cr. Annually. Prerequisite: Senior standing. More
 

PHYS 249 - Nuclear & Elementary Particle Physics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Introduction to scattering theory, nuclear phenomenology, nuclear models, nuclear radiation and fission and fusion, detectors and accelerators, properties of elementary particles, symmetries and transformations, and the standard model of elementary particles. More
 

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PHYS 257L - Advanced Lab.
Credits: 3.00
0.6; 3 cr. Annually. A weekly lecture on instrumentation and a selection of six to eight experiments from the following list: transient and steady states of SH-oscillator, coupled oscillators, bridge circuits, speed of sound in liquid, prison spectrometer, Frank-Hertz experiment, Planck constant , Currie temperature, magnetic susceptibility, measurement of gravitational acceleration, speed of light, Milikan's drop oil experiment, the Hall effect, optics, the Faraday effect, and nuclear magnetic resonance. More
 

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GRADUATE COURSES

MS Program

PHYS 301 - Classical Mechanics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. D'Alembert's principle, variational principles and Euler Lagrange's equations, rigid bodies and small oscillations, Hamilton's mechanics, canonical transformations and Hamilton-Jacobi theory, stability, integrable systems and chaotic motion. More
 

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PHYS 302 - Statistical Mechanics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Boltzmann distribution, density matrix, statistical ensembles, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics and applications, phase transitions, mean-field theory and applications. More
 

PHYS 303 - Electromagnetic Theory  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Boundary-value problems in electrostatics, multipoles, dielectrics, magnetostatics, time-varying fields and Maxwell's equations, and electromagnetic waves. More
 

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PHYS 305 - Quantum Mechanics  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. Hilbert space formulation of quantum mechanics, theory of angular momentum, Euler rotation, addition of angular momenta; symmetries and conservation laws: time reversal, parity, discrete symmetry; path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics, approximation methods, identical particles, elementary scattering theory, introduction to relativistic quantum mechanics. More
 

PHYS 309/310 - Selected Topics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Annually. May be repeated for credit.
 

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PHYS 391/392 - Graduate Tutorial
Credits: 1.00 to 3.00
1-3 cr. May be repeated for credit. Physics 391 is usually given in the fall semester while PHYS 392 is given in the spring semester. For more than one student or if the same student is taking two tutorials at the same time the letters A, B, C.... will be attached to distinguish these tutorials.
 

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PHYS 399 - M.S. Thesis
Credits: .00
 

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PHYS 399A to E - M.S. Thesis
Credits: .00

 

PhD Program

PHYS 301 - Classical Mechanics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. D'Alembert's principle, variational principles and Euler Lagrange's equations, rigid bodies and small oscillations, Hamilton's mechanics, canonical transformations and Hamilton-Jacobi theory, stability, integrable systems and chaotic motion. More
 

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PHYS 302 - Statistical Mechanics
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Statistical ensembles, Boltzmann distribution, density matrix, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics and applications, phase transitions, mean-field theory and applications. More

PHYS 303 - Electromagnetic Theory  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr.  Boundary-value problems in electrostatics, multipoles, dielectrics, magnetostatics, time-varying fields and Maxwell's equations, and electromagnetic waves. More
 

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PHYS 305 - Quantum Mechanics  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Hilbert space formulation of quantum mechanics, theory of angular momentum, Euler rotation, addition of angular momenta; symmetries and conservation laws: time reversal, parity, discrete symmetry; path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics, approximation methods, identical particles, elementary scattering theory. More

PHYS 306 - Introduction to Quantum Field Theory  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Prerequisite: PHYS 305. Unifying quantum theory and relativity, relativistic quantum mechanics: Klein-Gordon equation, scalar field, second quantization, Dirac's equation and Dirac's field; interaction fields and Feynman Diagrams, quantization of the electromagnetic field.
 

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PHYS 307 - Mathematical Methods of Physics  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Complex Analysis: Contour integration, conformal representation, Tensor analysis, partial differential equations: heat equation, hypergeometric functions.

PHYS 311 - Astrophysics I 
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Stars: Observational properties, population, spectra analysis; stellar matter: atomic processes, equation of state including degeneracy effects; stellar structure: differential equations of stellar structure, radiative and convective energy transport, thermonuclear reactions, nuclear fusion processes; stellar evolution:  discussion of the evolutionary phases of stars, stellar stability and pulsations; final stages of stars: supernovae, white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, star formation.

PHYS 312 - Astrophysics II  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr.  Close binary stars and accretion disks; physics of interstellar medium: heating, cooling, radiative transfer, physics of interstellar dust grains; dynamics of stellarsystems: morphology and dynamics of stellar populations in galaxies, N-body simulation, spiral structure; galaxies: galactic morphology, stellar content of galaxies, general properties of galaxies; galactic evolution: formation of galaxies, stellar populations; expanding universe: cosmological models, primeval fireball, cosmological red shift. 
 

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PHYS 313 - Differential Geometry and General Relativity  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Differential manifolds, tangent vectors, vectors and tensor fields, Lie derivatives, differential forms, Affine connections: covariant derivatives; curvature and torsion tensors, principal of equivalence, Einstein filed equations, Schwarzschild solutions and classical test of general relativity, weak gravitational fields, post-Newtonian approximation.

PHYS 314 - Non-equilibrium Statistical Mechanics  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Prerequisite:  PHYS 302.  Phenomenological description of transport processes: diffusion, thermal conduction and Brownian motion; general microscopic approaches: Liouville's and Von Neumann's equations; Boltzmann's equation and H-theorem; linear response theory: time-dependent correlation function, Green-Kubo formula, fluctuation-dissipation theorems; Stochastic evolution: Markoff process and master equation, correspondence between Langevin and Fokker-Planck pictures, kinetics of phase transitions.
 

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PHYS 315 - Particle Cosmology  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Prerequisite:  PHYS 313.  Relativistic cosmology: Friedmann equations and their solutions, Hubble diagram; Hot Big Bang model: statistical mechanics of the expanding Universe, microwave background, primordial nucleosynthesis, GUT model for baryon asymmetry; structure formation: Newtonian perturbation theory, gauge invariant relativistic perturbation theory, the large scale structure of the Universe; inflation theory.

PHYS 316 - Physics of Soft Matter  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Prerequisite:  PHYS 302.  Liquid crystals, polymers, colloids; statistical mechanics of correlation and order: scattering, structure factor, response function; application to liquid crystals: generalized elasticity, nematic-to-smectic transitions; application to polymers: random and self-voiding walks, coil-to-globe transitions, self-organization of amphiphylic macromolecules; application to colloids and foams.

PHYS 317 - Group Theory and Symmetry in Physics  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Group theory: subgroups, conjugate cases, direct products; group representation: unitary spaces, unitary representations, Shur's Lemma, orthogonality, tensor products, conjugate classes, Young tableaux; group theory and quantum mechanics; point groups: proper rotation group, crystallographic point groups; space groups; continuous groups: transformation groups, generators, Lie groups and algebras, Yacobi identity; application of SU(2); Isospin; tensor products; tensor methods: irreducible representations and symmetry, invariant tensors, Clebsch-Gordon decomposition; application of Lie groups to particle classifications: SU(5) and SO(10).

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PHYS 318 - Standard Model of Particle Physics  
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Renormalization and renormalization group, group theory and the quark model, Chiral anomaly, gauge theories and quantization, quantum chromodynamics, spontaneous symmetry braking, electroweak symmetry, standard model of elementary particles, one loop structure and one loop processes.

PHYS 319 - String Theory
Credits: 3.00
3.0; 3 cr. Classical Bosonic string, quantized Bosonic string, conformal field theory, string perturbation theory, classical Fermionic string, quantized Fermionic string, spin structures and superstring partition functions, heterotic strings, D-branes, Orbifolds, Calabi-Yau compactification.

PHYS 400 - PhD Dissertation 

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