PHYSICS
374
Intermediate Theoretical Methods
Lectures: Monday (11:00am-11:50am), Tuesday and Thursday (11:00am-12:15pm)
Office
hours: Tuesday and Thursday, after class (12:15pm-1:15pm)
TA Office hours: Monday (3:00pm-4:00pm); Wednesday (1:30pm-2:30pm)
Instructor: Victor
Galitski
TA: Doojin Kim
Description:
The purpose of this course is to introduce the most important
mathematical methods used in a variety of physics applications.
The math topics will include: Dimensional analysis, series
expansions, perturbation theory, vector calculus, partial
differential equations, complex analysis, Fourier series, linear
algebra, Green's functions. These methods will be used to solve
physics problems in the following areas: Classical mechanics,
Maxwell's equations, special relativity, fluid mechanics,
vibrations and waves, quantum mechanics.
Syllabus
Tentative program
Lecture slides:
Dimensional Analysis
Taylor series
Complex numbers
Analytic functions; residue theorem
Delta-function
Curvilinear coordinates
Gradient, divergence, curl
Fourier analysis
Final review problem
Homework:
Problem set 1
Problem set 2
Problem set 3
Problem set 4
Problem set 5
Problem set 6
Problem set 7
Problem set 8
Problem set 9