Review of wave mechanics and the Schrodinger equation, Hilbert space, harmonic oscillator, the WKB approximation, central forces and angular momentum, scattering, electron spin, density matrix, perturbation theory (time-independent and time-dependent), quantized radiation field, absorption and emission of radiation, identical particles, second quantization, Dirac equation.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Bah, Ibou; Tchernyshyov, Oleg V
• Room: Bloomberg 475
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 17/35
• PosTag(s): n/a

A one-term survey of the processes that generate radiation of astrophysical importance. Topics include radiative transfer, the theory of radiation fields, polarization and Stokes parameters, radiation from accelerating charges, bremsstrahlung, synchrotron radiation, thermal dust emission, Compton scattering, properties of plasmas, atomic and molecular quantum transitions, and applications to astrophysical observations.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Bennett, Chuck L
• Room: Bloomberg 361
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/25
• PosTag(s): n/a

This sequence is intended for graduate students in physics and related fields. Topics include: metals and insulators, diffraction and crystallography, phonons, electrons in a periodic potential, transport. Co-listed with AS.171.405

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Zhang, Yahui
• Room: Bloomberg 276
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/20
• PosTag(s): n/a

This is a graduate course that covers the fundamentals of galaxy formation, galactic structure and stellar dynamics, and includes topics in current research.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Wyse, Rosemary
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 11/25
• PosTag(s): n/a

Introduction to finite and Lie groups, representations and applications to quantum mechanics, condensed matter physics, and other fields of physics; selected topics from differential geometry and algebraic topology.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Li, Yi
• Room: Bloomberg 259
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 2/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

An introduction to the physics of general relativity. Principal topics are: physics in curved spacetimes; the Equivalence Principle; the Einstein Field Equations; the post-Newtonian approximation and Solar System tests; the Schwarzschild and Kerr solutions of the Field Equations and properties of black holes; Friedmann solutions and cosmology; and gravitational wave propagation and generation.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Berti, Emanuele
• Room: Bloomberg 475
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 13/25
• PosTag(s): n/a

This is an advanced course discussing mainstream and frontier topics in the five areas of: 1. Cosmology and galaxy, star, black hole and planet formation. 2. Discussions on the astrophysics of (exo-)planets including atmospheres, non-equilibrium atmospheres and biosignatures. 3.Future missions including the Habitable Worlds Observatory. 4. The hazards of space flight and how to overcome them 5. Significant existential questions for life’s continuance over the vast timeline of the Universe.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Norman, Colin
• Room: Bloomberg 259
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/20
• PosTag(s): n/a

Introduction to relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Canonical quantization; scalar, spinor, and vector fields; scattering theory; renormalization; functional integration; spontaneous symmetry breaking; Standard Model of particle physics.

• Days/Times: MW 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Kaplan, David
• Room: Bloomberg 464
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 11/25
• PosTag(s): n/a

Brief review of basic statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. Then hydrodynamic theory is derived from statistical mechanics and classical treatments of phase transitions, including Ginzburg-Landau theory.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Armitage, Peter
• Room: Bloomberg 361
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 19/35
• PosTag(s): n/a

Review of special relativity and an introduction to general relativity, Robertson-Walker metric, and Friedmann equation and solutions. Key transitions in the thermal evolution of the universe, including big bang nucleosynthesis, recombination, and reionization. The early universe (inflation), dark energy, dark matter, and the cosmic microwave background. Development of density perturbations, galaxy formation, and large-scale structure.

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Wandelt, Benjamin
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/24
• PosTag(s): n/a

Black holes are the central engines for a wide variety of astrophysical objects: Galactic X-ray sources, active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, stellar tidal disruptions, and black hole mergers. Although the mass distribution of astrophysical black holes spans ten orders of magnitude and their circumstances can vary tremendously, the physical processes relevant to them are often closely related. The class will begin with an overview of astrophysical black hole phenomenology and then review the most important physical mechanisms responsible for their observed properties: relativistic orbits for both matter and photons; accretion dynamics and radiation; relativistic jet launching, propagation, and radiation; binary black hole dynamics and gravitational wave emission; and lastly, black hole creation.

• Days/Times: MW 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Krolik, Julian H
• Room: Bloomberg 259
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 21/24
• PosTag(s): n/a

A course for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students covering the principles of optics and image formation using Fourier Transforms, and a discussion of interferometry and other applications both in radio and optical astronomy.

• Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Staff
• Room: Bloomberg 511
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 23/24
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Berti, Emanuele
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Serra, Francesca
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Swartz, Morris
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Chien, Chia Ling
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Kamionkowski, Marc
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Reich, Daniel H
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: McCandliss, Stephan R
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Krolik, Julian H
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Li, Yi
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Norman, Colin
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: DeMille, David
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 18/20
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Heckman, Tim Martin
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Schlaufman, Kevin Charles
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Szalay, Alex
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Camley, Brian
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Drichko, Natalia
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Wyse, Rosemary
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Vishniac, Ethan Tecumseh
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Neufeld, David A
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Blair, Bill P
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Li, Yi
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Beller, Daniel
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Speller, Danielle Hope
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Broholm, Collin Leslie
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bianchi, Luciana
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Zakamska, Nadia
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Kaplan, David
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Sing, David Kent
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Leheny, Robert L
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bah, Ibou
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Tchernyshyov, Oleg V
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bennett, Chuck L
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Kaplan, Jared
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Gritsan, Andrei
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 1/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Armitage, Peter
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Maksimovic, Petar
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Riess, Adam
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Marriage, Tobias
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Ménard, Brice
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: McQueen, Tyrel
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Zhang, Yaojun
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Zhang, Yahui
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: MacGregor, Meredith Ann
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Carroll, Sean Michael
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Overstreet, Chris
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Corsi, Alessandra
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Stock, Suvi Gezari
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Quiroz, Gregory David
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Norcini, Danielle
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Rajendran, Surjeet
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Staff
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Wandelt, Benjamin
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Wyart, Matthieu
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent Research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Ménard, Brice; Tchernyshyov, Oleg V
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 21/45
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent Research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Ménard, Brice; Tchernyshyov, Oleg V
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 40/45
• PosTag(s): n/a

Survey of the basic concepts, ideas, and areas of research in astrophysics, discussing general astrophysical topics while highlighting specialized terms often used compared to physics.

• Days/Times: M 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Vishniac, Ethan Tecumseh
• Room: Bloomberg 464
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 13/20
• PosTag(s): n/a

The identification of the nature of dark matter is one of the most important problems confronting particle physics. Current observational constraints permit the mass of the dark matter to range from ∼10−22∼10−22 eV - 10481048 GeV. Given the weak nature of these bounds and the ease with which dark matter models can be constructed, it is clear that the problem can only be solved experimentally. In these lectures, I discuss a wide range of dark matter candidates such weakly interacting massive particles, axions and ultra-heavy dark matter objects. The lectures will cover theoretical motivations for these dark matter candidates, observational constraints on these candidates and the technologies necessary to probe them.

• Days/Times: MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Rajendran, Surjeet
• Room: Bloomberg 259
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Sushkov, Alexander
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 1/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Quantum description of light; non-classical optical states and squeezing; atom-photon interactions; optical Bloch equations and open-system dynamics; experimental methods of atomic and optical physics. Recommended Course Background: AS.171.303, AS.171.304. Note that Atomic and Optical Physics I (AS.171.432/632) is not a pre-requisite for this course.

• Days/Times: MWF 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Overstreet, Chris
• Room: Bloomberg 259
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 16/24
• PosTag(s): n/a