The third-year physics units listed here may not all be offered in any given year; students will be advised during enrolment as to which units are available in which semester. Physics units with insufficient enrolment may not be presented, and students will be advised as to appropriate alternatives. The units are described below. Only prescribed texts are noted.
A seminar program for theoretical physics students is offered in both semesters.
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Acoustics
Normally second semester
Synopsis Building acoustics: reverberation, absorption coefficients and sound absorbing materials. Community noise measurements: noise indices and instrumentation, noise dose, estimation of noise levels in factories and in suburban areas, recording long term and transient sounds, frequency analysis, sound intensity measurements. Outdoor sound propagation: basic equations and ray model approach, effect of wind and temperature gradients, ground impedance effects. Active noise control: random and periodic systems, sound absorbers and reflector classes, applications.
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Advanced quantum physics
Second semester
Synopsis The aim is to discuss the underlying basic concepts of quantum mechanics and to apply the formalism to a number of physical problems, thereby illustrating approximation methods. The basic postulates of quantum mechanics. General properties of states and observables in the Schr[sinvcircumflex]dinger formulation. Matrix mechanics, basic sets, eigenvectors and secular equations. Commutation relations and angular momentum. Introduction of spin, Pauli spin matrices and spin wave functions. Pauli's exclusion principle and symmetry.
Prescribed texts
Mandl F Quantum mechanics Wiley, 1992
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Applications of quantum mechanics
First semester
Synopsis Time-independent perturbation theory and application to Zeeman splitting, atomic polarisability of hydrogen. Degenerate perturbation theory. The variational approximation applied to the ground state of helium. Time-independent perturbation theory. Fermi's golden rule. Interaction of radiation and matter.
Prescribed texts
Mandl F Quantum mechanics Wiley, 1992
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Complex analysis in physics
First semester
Synopsis Functions of a complex variable. Cauchy-Riemann equations. Homotopy theory. Multiply connected spaces. Cauchy's theorem. Contour integrals. Cauchy's integral formula. Taylor and Laurent expansions. Residues and poles. Energy spectrum; the complex E-plane. The residue theorem. Infinite integrals and series. Branch cuts, Riemann surfaces and topology. The Laplace and z transforms. Heaviside step function; the free propagator. The Hilbert transform. Analyticity and causality. Kramers-Kronig relations. Conformal mappings.
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Electrical and optical properties
Synopsis As for MSC3011 (Materials science).
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Electromagnetism
First semester
Synopsis Maxwell's equations, vector and scalar potentials, boundary equations. Plane electromagnetic waves in isotropic media. Cavity resonators. Transmission lines and effects of termination impedance. Waveguides, TE and TM modes in rectangular waveguides.
Prescribed texts
Cheng D K Field and wave electromagnetics Addison-Wesley, 1984
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Elementary particles
Second semester
Synopsis Quantum numbers including spin, parity, isotopic spin, strangeness and baryon/lepton number. Conservation laws of the fundamental interactions. Symmetry theories of multiplet structure.
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Magnetic properties
Synopsis As for MSC3022 (Materials science).
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Materials characterisation
Synopsis As for MSC3011 (Materials science).
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Nuclear physics
Second semester
Synopsis Topics chosen from the following. Review of binding energy, pairing and semi-empirical mass formula, mass parabolas. Characteristics of nuclear levels, shell model, spin-orbit coupling, level width. Interactions of radiation with matter, radiation detection. Radioactive decay, multipoles and gamma decay, selection rules. Beta decay and the neutrino. Fermi theory of beta decay. The nuclear force. The deuteron.
Prescribed texts
Krane W S Introduction to nuclear physics Wiley, 1987
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Optics
First semester
Synopsis Scalar diffraction theory. Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction integral. Fraunhofer diffraction as the Fourier transform of an aperture transmission function. Fourier optics. Fresnel diffraction; concept of zones. Coherence; general interference law for partially coherent light. Laser principle; spontaneous and stimulated emission, amplification, threshold condition. Holography.
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Professional studies 1
First semester
Synopsis This is a six-hour unit in first semester attended by all third year physics, theoretical physics and applied physics students. Topics include professional development, job seeking, oral presentation and interview techniques, report writing. Assessment will be by assignment.
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Professional studies 2
Second semester
Synopsis This is a six-hour unit in second semester attended by all third year physics and applied physics students. Topics will include professional development and students will be involved with an interaction with an outside industrial/research organisation. Assessment will be by an assignment.
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Relativistic mechanics and fields
Second semester
Synopsis Tensor calculus in pseudo-Euclidean spaces. Lorentz transforms and applications to kinematics, dynamics and optics. Lorentz covariant matrices; world lines, proper time, 4-vectors for energy-momentum. Action principles and variational methods. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations in relativity. Generalisation to include accelerating frames. Metric and Riemannian spaces. Einstein's assumptions and their consequences.
Prescribed texts
Landau L D and Lifshitz E M Classical theory of fields
revised edn, Pergamon, 1982
Nayfeh M H and Brussel M K Electricity and magnetism Wiley, 1985
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Seminar program
First and second semester
Synopsis Theoretical students attend six one-hour seminars presented by academic staff in first semester. In second semester the program consists of twelve one-hour seminars that students contribute to by way of presentations on topics selected by agreement between staff and student. Assessment will be based on the contribution students make to these seminars through discussion (first semester) and an essay and a presentation (second semester).
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Solid state physics
Second semester
Synopsis Classification of crystalline solids and crystal bonding. Elastic properties of solids. The reciprocal lattice. Vibration of one-dimensional monatomic and diatomic lattices. Phonon dispersion curves and the measurement of anharmonicity. Classical theory of electrons in metals. Quantum theory for free electrons. Electronic properties of metals.
Prescribed texts
Ashcroft N W and Mermin N D Solid state physics Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976
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Statistical mechanics
First semester
Synopsis An introduction to how physical concepts such as heat, temperature and entropy can be understood from a microscopic, probabilistic viewpoint. The Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein probability distributions. Simple applications of the partition function will be treated.
Prescribed texts
Guenault A M Statistical physics 2nd edn, Routledge, 1988
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Stellar atmospheres
Second semester
Synopsis Review of the observed properties of stars. Static stellar structure, radiative transport, the radiation field, opacity and emissivity, equation of radiative transfer, black body radiation, radiative equilibrium, true absorption and scattering. Radiation in the solar atmosphere, limb darkening, non-radiative energy transfer, Boltzmann and Saha equations, transition probabilities and line opacities, line broadening mechanisms, continuous opacity, simplified model of stellar atmospheres, line intensities in stellar spectra, curves of growth for stellar spectral lines.
Prescribed texts
Bohm-Vitasse E Introduction to stellar astrophysics vol. 2, Cambridge, 1989