Aim: This module aims to teach students in second year Condensed Matte Physics. It will build from the NUM1 course that was taught in the first year and is especially designed for students in the Condensed Matter Physics section aiming at specializing in the areas of computational physics and chemistry.
Content: Students will be taught about more advanced simulation techniques such as Molecular Dynamics and Monte Carlo both from a classical and quantum perspective with particular emphasis on applications in solid-state physics, organic and inorganic molecular systems and the modeling of biological systems. Besides sharpening their programming skills with more challenging numerical problems, students will also be exposed to state-of-the-art open source packages that allow for the simulation/modeling of complex systems with a particular emphasis on biomolecular simulations.
The aim of this module is to provide to students a deep knowledge of the formulation of statistical mechanics and probability theory to derive relations between thermodynamical quantities and to introduce them to the transition from the classical statistical mechanics to quantum many-body systems.
This module aims to give an introduction to the physics of electrons and phonons in solids together with theoretical concepts and techniques as applied to these systems. Theoretical approaches are developed which can deal with a macroscopic number of interacting quantum objects, with the focus on electrons and quantized lattice vibrations (phonons). Various applications are discussed with emphasis on experimental and theoretical research directions of the Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics area of the ICTP.
The aim of this course is to train students in advanced topics and tools of Condensed Matter Physics.
The course is in two parts. The first is Many Body Physics Fundamentals. It introduces the concept of second quantization and uses this to study Phonons, Magnons, Electron--Phonon interactions. A summary of Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena will also be covered.
The second part of the course, Many Body Physics Phenomenology and it covers Fermions, Bosons, Superconductivity, Magnetism and some special topics featuring some recent trends in Condensed Matter Physics.
At the end of the course, the student will have the tools to be able to carry out research at the cutting edge in Condensed Matter Physics.