2020 Faculty Courses School of Science Undergraduate major in Physics
Condensed Matter Physics I
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Physics
- Instructor(s)
- Toru Hirahara / Hiroyuki Hirayama
- Class Format
- Lecture (Zoom)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Tue (H116) / 3-4 Fri (H116)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- PHY.C341
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2020
- Offered quarter
- 4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course provides a comprohensive view of the central concepts of following topics in physics; magnetism by localized magnetic moments, quantum theory of electric conduction in metals and semiconductors, topological insulators, superconductivity, surface physics, lasers and ultracold atom gases.
Students will study basic concepts under novel phenomena which happen at various aspects in condensed matter physics.
Course description and aims
Condensed matter physics deals with the various physical properties of condensed phases of matter. The goal of this course is to provide students understanding of basic concepts of several hot and improtant aspects of modern condensed matterphysics.
Keywords
magnetism, semiconductor physics, surface physics, laser optics, superconductivity and low temperature physics, ultracold atom gases.
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
We will discuss some of the subjects listed below.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Exchange interaction |
Explain what is the exchange interaction. |
| Class 2 | Local magnetic moment and magnetism |
Describe local magnetic moment and magnetism. |
| Class 3 | Electrical conduction |
Students must understand basic factors which determine the electrical conduction in solids. |
| Class 4 | Landauer formula and quantized conductance |
Students must understand the Landauer formula and the reason why the conductance is quantified in nano world. |
| Class 5 | Energy bands and effective-mass approximation |
Students must understand the advantages of the effective-mass appproximation in analysis of band structures of solids. |
| Class 6 | Carrier conductance in semiconductors |
Students must understand the charcteristic conduction at semidonductor pn junctions. |
| Class 7 | Compound semiconductors and quantum wells |
Students must understand the bandgap engineering based quantum well states at heterojunctions of compound semiconductors. |
| Class 8 | Topological Insulators |
Students must understand what's topological insulator, and the characteristic edge state. |
| Class 9 | Low temperature physics and superconductivity |
Explain the meaning of low temperature physics and superconductivity. |
| Class 10 | superconducting materials and mechanism |
Describe superconducting materials and superconducting mechanism in these materials. |
| Class 11 | Surface structure and electronic states |
Students must understand characteristic reconstructions and electronic states at surfaces. |
| Class 12 | Surface analysis methods |
Students must understand the basic concepts of electron diffraction, scanning tunneling microscope, and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy at surfaces. |
| Class 13 | Optical gain and lasers, applications in physics |
Explain optical gain and lasers. |
| Class 14 | Ultracold atomic gases |
Explain characteristic feature of ultracold atomic gases. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Course materials are provided during class.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
〔Hirayama〕： J. H. Davies, The Physics of Low-dimensional Semiconductors: an introduction, Cambridge (1988).
〔Hirahara〕： Japanese textbooks are shown above.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students' course scores are mainly based on final exam.
Related courses
- PHY.C340 ： Basic Solid State Physics
- ZUB.Q204 ： Quantum Mechanics I
- ZUB.S205 ： Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics I
- PHY.C342 ： Condensed Matter Physics II
Prerequisites
Students must have successfully completed PHY.C340, ZUB.Q204, and ZUB.S205.