Statistical and condensed matter physics

This unit explores topics of foundational many-body physics. The unit consists of two theory-only sub-units, and the key areas for each sub-unit are:

• Statistical physics: Classical statistical ensembles and distributions Boltzmann factors, probability and the partition function. Connecting the partition function with thermodynamics via free energies. The Maxwellian distributions of speeds. The chemical potential. The Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein probability distributions. Fermi gases at low and high temperature. Photon and phonon gases: black-body radiation and the Debye model. Bose-Einstein condensation. Applications to real systems such as melting of DNA and the exponential atmosphere.

• Condensed matter physics: real and reciprocal space lattices, classical and quantum models of atomic vibration in crystals, the basic theory for the behaviour of electrons and phonons in solid crystalline materials, Bloch's theorem and band theory, phonons, electronic properties of semiconductors, superconductivity, superfluidity, low dimensional materials, quasi-periodic and amorphous solids.