Complex systems of many interacting degrees of freedom can display qualitatively new physics with no analog in few body systems. The search for such emergent phenomena is one of the central goals of condensed matter physics (and its close cousin, statistical physics). My research is focused on the search for new emergent phenomena in quantum many body systems with strong interactions and/or strong randomness. I do theory work on quantum systems both in and out of equilibrium. Particular topics of interest include (but are not limited to) non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics, many body localization and thermalization, field theory of correlated systems, Dirac fermions, unconventional superconductors and the interplay of disorder and interactions; fractons; non-linear spectroscopy and ultrafast dynamics in quantum materials.
PHYS 2170 - Foundations of Modern Physics
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2019 / Fall 2019
Covers special relativity, quantum mechanics and atomic structure. Completes the three-semester sequence of general physics for physics and engineering physics majors. Normally taken with the laboratory PHYS 2150. Degree credit not granted for this course and PHYS 2130.
PHYS 3210 - Classical Mechanics and Mathematical Methods 2
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2021
Lagrangian and Hamiltonian treatment of theoretical mechanics, including coupled oscillations, waves in continuous media, central force motion, rigid body motion and fluid dynamics. The calculus of variations, linear algebra, tensor algebra, vector calculus, and partial differential equations will be introduced in the context of the mechanics.
PHYS 4230 - Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
Primary Instructor
-
Fall 2023
Statistical mechanics applied to macroscopic physical systems; statistical thermodynamics, classical thermodynamics systems; applications to simple systems. Examines relationship of statistical to thermodynamic points of view.
PHYS 7440 - Theory of the Solid State
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2018 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Stresses application to the solid state of physical concepts basic to much of modern physics, single-particle approximation, and the energy-band description of electron states in solids, pseudopotential theory applied to ordered and disordered systems, dynamical behavior of electrons in solids, lattice dynamics, Hartree-Fock and random-phase approximation in solids, many-body aspects of magnetism, and superconductivity.
