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Introduction

Index | Crystal symmetries? >

This course is part of the Parma condensed matter master suite of courses, with two specialisations and two subtopics each: crystalline (I. magnets and superconductors, II. semiconductors) and soft matter (I. biophysics, II. other soft structures). The course provides the foundations for the crystalline condensed matter syllabus and is recommended also for the soft specialisation. Since there is a separate Semiconductor Physics and Applications course, these special topics are avoided in the present course. Magnetism is also partially covered by Statistical Physics and Magnetism and Quantum Computation. Therefore the present course contains four general chapters (Crystal Symmetries, Band Theory, Order and Excitations and Hands-on DFT), but focuses on two topics (Metals and Metal-Insulator transitions, Superfluids and Superconductors).

The approach includes general surveys of phenomena and properties, the main models and conceptual ideas, simple-case exercises, hands-on with software and web applications, illustration of main experimental techniques to measure the properties.

This course and the wiki are a work in progress. A very first draft is described here This is a page template for internal use.

• Introduction
• Crystal symmetries?
  • Crystal Tools?
  • Magnetic structures
• Thermodynamics recap
• Phase Transitions
• Crystals as Many Body?
  • Hartee Units
  • Born-Oppenheimer approximation
  • Jahn-Teller distortions?
• Linear response?
  • Quantum Linear Response?
  • Homogeneous vs. local case?
  • Properties of the frequency response?
  • Kubo Formula?
  • Spectral representation and Fluctuation -Dissipation Theorem?
• Phonons?
  • Normal modes in 3D Bravais lattice
  • Quantum phonons
  • Why {$\varepsilon(\omega_{LO})=0$}?
• CondensedMatter.Electrons?
  • Sommerfeld model
  • NMR Knight shift and Korringa relaxation?
  • Landau levels in high magnetic field
  • Tight Binding?
  • Hartree Fock?
  • Jellium?
  • Density Functional
• DFT Tutorial with Quantum Espresso
• CondensedMatter.Superfluidity?
• Superconductivity?
  • Superconductor facts
  • The London model
  • Gauge symmetry and gauge symmetry breaking in superconductivity
  • The Ginzburg-Landau model
  • Ginzburg-Landau Equations
  • The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer model - I
  • The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer model - II
  • Time line and novel superconductors
  • Pippard corrections?
• CondensedMatter.SparseNotes
• Material project, VESTA and Bilbao

Main textbooks:

1. U. Rössler Solid State Theory, An Introduction. Springer Verlag (with physical intuition, good overview; with problems and solutions)
2. J.F. Annett Superconductivity, Superfluids and Condensates. Oxford Master Series (with physical intuition, specific for VI; with exercises and solutions)
3. G. Grosso G Parravicini Solid State Physics. Academic Press (more formal, oriented towards semiconductors, good for II. and V.; with a few solved exercises)
4. D. Khomskii Basic Aspects of the Quantum Theory of Solids, Order and Elementary Excitations. Cambridge Press (mixes physical intuition and a consistent theoretical approach, oriented towards strongly correlated materials, good for IV.)
5. N.W. Ashcroft and N.D. Mermin Solid State Physics, Sounders, 1976 (old but very good overview)
6. C. Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, 7th Ed., Wiley, (1996) (old, good, large overview, contains a lot of experimental information, always going for simple explanations, not always exhaustive)
7. M. Tinkham, Introduction to Superconductivity, II ed. McGraw-Hill (1996), some chapters (e.g. BCS, Ginzburg-Landau) serve as more precise reference than Annett's book.
8. S. Simon, Solid State Basics, OUP (2013) a very good introductory course.

See elly for additional material

CondesedMatter.Exercises