In this course, we will study quantum mechanics at a level suitable as an introduction to the subject or as a refresher. The aim is to end the course with a working understanding of typical problems and techniques. The course will consist of two weekly sessions, supplemented by online lectures and material by David Miller and relevant books, where we go through important concepts and solve some exercises, respectively.
In this course, we explore how to build theories for complex fluids; we will often be taking examples from the world of biology. The focus of the course will be to emphasise generic features in order to build up a repertoire of theoretical tools that are widely applicable to analyse a diversity of soft materials.
Topics covered may vary from year to year depending on the specialisms of the staff involved but will include:
- Physics and non-equilibrium thermodynamics of binary mixtures
- Symmetries and phases of liquid crystals
- Topological defects in liquid crystals
- Hydrodynamic theories of complex fluids
- Topological properties of DNA: knots and supercoiling
Lecturer: Davide Marenduzzo
Institution: Edinburgh
Hours Equivalent Credit: 20
Lecturer: Herbert Fruchtl
Institution: SCOTCHEM/St Andrews
Hours Equivalent Credit: 9
Assessment: Continuous assessment through assignments
Course Summary
The course will provide an introduction to practical computational chemistry techniques. The focus is on an introduction to the current state-of-the-art computational chemistry codes together with the theory behind the methods. Ab initio, DFT and classical methods for molecular systems, solids and surfaces, as well as cheminformatics, will be introduced along with how they are used in practice by researchers in Scotland.
Lecturer: Jonathan Keeling
Institution: St Andrews
Hours Equivalent Credit: 30
Assessment: Continuous Assessment (5 problem sets for graduate students)
This is a final year undergraduate course organised by the University of St Andrews.
Course Summary
Quantum field theory combines classical field theory with quantum mechanics and provides analytical tools to understand many-particle and relativistic quantum systems. This course aims to introduce the ideas and techniques of quantum field theory. I will use examples drawn mainly from condensed matter physics to illustrate the ideas and application of quantum field theory.
