Courses
ASTR 152. Elementary Astronomy (3)
An introduction to astronomy. Topics to be covered include the historical development of astronomy; the laws that govern the behavior of the universe; a survey of the properties of stars and galaxies, including their origin and evolution; and the Big Bang Theory. Students may not receive credit for both ASTR 152 and ASTR 154. (Available for General Education, B1 Physical Science. Students in Plan R may satisfy the corresponding lab requirement by completing ASTR 154L.)
Note: Students in GE Plan E should only enroll in ASTR 152 if meeting the B3 Science Laboratory Activity in Life Science.
ASTR 154. Elementary Astronomy (2)
Corequisite: ASTR 154L. An introduction to astronomy. Topics to be covered include the historical development of astronomy; the laws that govern the behavior of the universe; a survey of the properties of stars and galaxies, including their origin and evolution; and the Big Bang Theory. Students may not receive credit for both ASTR 154 and ASTR 152. (Available for General Education, B1 Physical Science. Students satisfy the B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement by completing ASTR 154L.)
Note: Students in GE Plan R should enroll in ASTR 152 instead of ASTR 154.
ASTR 154L. Observational Astronomy Lab (1)
Corequisite (GE Plan E Students): ASTR 154. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory (GE Plan R Students): ASTR 152. Introduction to the techniques of observational astronomy, including data acquisition and interpretation. Testing of astronomical hypotheses by using data from observations of the moon, planets, sun, stars and galaxies. 3 hours per week. (Available for General Education, B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement provided ASTR 154 is also completed. May be used to satisfy the General Education Plan R lab requirement provided ASTR 152 is also completed.)
ASTR 300. Introductory Astrophysics (3)
Prerequisites: MATH 150B; PHYS 220A or PHYS 225; PHYS 227; and completion of the lower division writing requirement. An upper division course intended for astrophysics majors. The course covers stellar and planetary systems, including: our solar system and planetary and satellite motion, extra-solar planets, the properties of stars, binary and multiple star systems, the stellar life cycle, clusters of stars, and an introduction to radiative transfer. Both Newtonian and relativistic dynamics will be applied to these astrophysical systems.
ASTR 301. The Dynamical Universe (3)
Preparatory: MATH 150B; PHYS 220A or PHYS 225; Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Applications of Newtonian and relativistic dynamics to astrophysical systems. Planetary and satellite motion, planetary rings, binary and multiple star systems, clusters of stars, dynamics of spiral and elliptical galaxies, missing mass of galaxy clusters, relativistic orbits (Mercury and the binary pulsar), black holes and the dynamical fate of the universe.
ASTR 352. Current Developments in Astronomy (3)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. In-depth examination and interpretation of astronomical discoveries occurring at the time the course is taught. Reading includes both background material and current periodicals accessible to upper division, General Education students. Likely areas of discussion include spacecraft exploration of the solar system, satellite observations of high-energy radiation from space, exotic astronomical objects (e.g., double quasars, black hole candidates), and new cosmological data. (Available for General Education, B5 Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning.) (IC)
ASTR 352L. Current Developments in Astronomy Lab (1)
Preparatory: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: ASTR 352. Use of observational and laboratory facilities and published data to explore current developments in astronomy. 3 hours per week. (May be used to satisfy the General Education Plan R lab requirement provided ASTR 352 is also completed.)
ASTR 401. The Radiative Universe (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 227. Application of the laws of radiation, atomic structure and subatomic structure to astrophysical systems. Cosmic magnetic fields, energy sources, analysis of radiation from stars, nebulae, supernovae, active galaxies and quasars, the early universe and origin of the elements. Available for graduate credit.
ASTR 499A-C. Independent Study (1-3)
No course description.
PHYS 100A. General Physics I (3)
Prerequisite: MATH 105 or MATH 106, or a score on the Mathematics Placement Test (MPT) sufficient for entry into MATH 150A or MATH 255A. Introductory course in physics. Topics covered include mechanics, heat and sound. (Available for General Education, B1 Physical Science. Students may satisfy the B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement by completing PHYS 100AL.)
PHYS 100AL. General Physics I Lab (1)
Prerequisite: MATH 105 or MATH 106, or a score on the Mathematics Placement Test (MPT) sufficient for entry into MATH 150A or MATH 255A. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 100A. 3 hours per week. (Available for General Education, B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement provided PHYS 100A is also completed.)
PHYS 100B. General Physics II (3)
Prerequisite: PHYS 100A. Continuation of PHYS 100A. Topics covered include electricity and magnetism, light, and modern physics. (Available for General Education, B1 Physical Science. Students may satisfy the B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement by completing PHYS 100BL.)
PHYS 100BL. General Physics II Lab (1)
Prerequisite: PHYS 100A. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 100B. 3 hours per week. (Available for General Education, B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement provided PHYS 100B is also completed.)
PHYS 220A. Mechanics (3)
Prerequisite: MATH 150A or MATH 255A; Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: MATH 150B or MATH 255B. Dynamics and statics of particles and rigid bodies, harmonic vibrations and fluid mechanics. (Available for General Education, B1 Physical Science. Students may satisfy the B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement by completing PHYS 220AL.)
PHYS 220AL. Mechanics Lab (1)
Prerequisite: MATH 150A or MATH 255A. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: MATH 150B or MATH 255B and PHYS 220A or PHYS 225. 3 hours per week. (Available for General Education, B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement provided PHYS 220A or PHYS 225 is also completed.)
PHYS 220B. Electricity and Magnetism (3)
Prerequisites: PHYS 220A; MATH 150B or MATH 255B. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: MATH 250. Electric and magnetic fields, circuit theory and electromagnetic induction. (Available for General Education, B1 Physical Science. Students may satisfy the B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement by completing PHYS 220BL.)
PHYS 220BL. Electricity and Magnetism Lab (1)
Prerequisites: PHYS 220A or PHYS 225; MATH 150B or MATH 255B. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: MATH 250; PHYS 220B or PHYS 226. 3 hours per week. (Available for General Education, B3 Science Laboratory Activity requirement provided PHYS 220B or PHYS 226 is also completed.)
PHYS 225. Physics I (4)
Prerequisite: MATH 150A. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: MATH 150B. First course of a sequence intended primarily for physical science majors. Calculus-based course on mechanics, fluids, waves and acoustics.
PHYS 226. Physics II (4)
Prerequisites: MATH 150B; PHYS 225. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: MATH 250. Second course of a sequence of courses intended primarily for physical science majors. Calculus-based course on electricity, magnetism and optics.
PHYS 227. Physics III (4)
Prerequisites: MATH 150B; PHYS 226 or PHYS 220B. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: MATH 280. Third course of a sequence of courses intended primarily for physical science majors. Calculus-based course on thermodynamics, waves and modern physics.
PHYS 227L. Physics III Lab (1)
Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 227. 3 hours per week.
PHYS 301. Analytical Mechanics I (3)
Preparatory: MATH 250, PHYS 280; PHYS 227; Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 389. Newtonian mechanics of a single particle, oscillations, systems of particles, central force motion, calculus of variations and Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics.
PHYS 305. Physics of Music (3)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course is currently taught entirely and only online. History and development of the science of sound and music, physical concepts necessary for the study of wave motion, mechanics of the construction of sound and musical tones, and basic physical principles involved in the production of sound in instruments and the human voice, including studies of the production of language. A good understanding of the composition of sounds and musical tones is obtained without detailed mathematics through experiments carried out in the home or other locations using the student’s computer with installed software. A final project is required. (Available for General Education, B5 Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning.) (IC)
PHYS 305L. Physics of Music Laboratory (1)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Corequisite: PHYS 305. This course is currently taught entirely and only online. History and development of the science of sound and music, physical concepts necessary for the study of wave motion, mechanics of the construction of sound and musical tones, and basic physical principles involved in the production of sound in instruments and the human voice, including studies of the production of language. A good understanding of the composition of sounds and musical tones is obtained without detailed mathematics through experiments carried out in the home or other locations using the student’s computer with installed software. A final project is required. (May be used to satisfy the General Education Plan R lab requirement provided PHYS 305L is also completed.)
PHYS 311. Electromagnetism I (3)
Preparatory: MATH 250, MATH 280; PHYS 227; Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 389. Vector calculus, electrostatics, magnetostatics, Faradays Law and introduction to Maxwells equations.
PHYS 365. Experimental Physics I (2)
Preparatory: MATH 250, 280; PHYS 227/L; Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 389. Advanced experimental techniques in physics, with topics including optics, nuclear physics, thin-film characteristics, microwaves, data acquisition via computer interface, computer simulations, solar observations and other topics chosen by the instructor. This course includes a module on computer analysis in physics using MATLAB. Students are trained in advanced experimental techniques and complete two experimental modules for 2 units of credit. 6 hours per week.
PHYS 366. Experimental Physics II (2)
Preparatory: MATH 250, 280; PHYS 227/L, PHYS 389. Advanced experimental techniques in physics, with topics including optics, nuclear physics, thin-film characteristics, microwaves, data acquisition via computer interface, computer simulations, solar observations and other topics chosen by the instructor. Students are trained in advanced experimental techniques and complete 2 experimental modules for 2 units of credit. 6 hours per week.
PHYS 375. Quantum Physics I (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 301, PHYS 389. Classical background, the wave function, Schroedinger equation, time development and stationary states, 1-dimensional problems, harmonic oscillator and formalism of quantum mechanics.
PHYS 376. Radiologic Physics (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 100A/PHYS 100AL, PHYS 100B/PHYS 100BL or instructor consent. Specialized course devoted to the nature and production of X-radiation. Topics include the interaction of radiation with matter, attenuation of X-rays and the principles behind radiographic equipment and components.
PHYS 389. Mathematical Methods in Physics I (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 227; MATH 280 or MATH 351. An introduction to the mathematical methods used in junior and senior level physics courses. Topics covered include vector analysis, linear algebra, and partial differentiation.
PHYS 402. Analytical Mechanics II (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 301, PHYS 389. Noninertial reference frames, rigid body motion, coupled oscillations, nonlinear mechanics, scattering, vibrating string and Fourier analysis. Available for graduate credit.
PHYS 410. Electromagnetism II (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 301, PHYS 311, PHYS 389. Maxwell’s equations and applications, electromagnetic waves, radiation and special relativity. Available for graduate credit.
PHYS 420. Modern Optics (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 311, PHYS 375. Propagation of electromagnetic waves. Geometrical optics. Physical optics, including refraction, reflection, interference, diffraction, and polarization. Atomic spectroscopy. Lasers. Available for graduate credit.
PHYS 431. Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (4)
Preparatory: PHYS 301, PHYS 375. Laws of thermodynamics, thermodynamic potentials, kinetic theory, phase transitions, equilibrium ensembles and related formalism with applications to classical and quantum systems. Available for graduate credit.
PHYS 451. Quantum Physics II (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 311, PHYS 375. Hydrogen atom, angular momentum, spin, matrix representation, quantum statistics, perturbation theory and scattering. Available for graduate credit.
PHYS 465. Experimental Physics III (2)
Preparatory: PHYS 365. Advanced experimental techniques in physics with topics including optics, nuclear physics, thin-film characteristics, microwaves, data acquisition via computer interface, computer simulations, solar observations and other topics chosen by the instructor. Students are trained in advanced experimental techniques and will complete two experimental modules for 2 units of credit. Available for graduate credit. 6 hours per week.
PHYS 466. Experimental Physics IV (2)
Preparatory: PHYS 365. Advanced experimental techniques in physics with topics including optics, nuclear physics, thin-film characteristics, microwaves, data acquisition via computer interface, computer simulations, solar observations and topics chosen by the instructor. Students are trained in advanced experimental techniques and will complete two experimental modules for 2 units of credit. Available for graduate credit. 6 hours per week.
PHYS 470. Introduction to Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics (3)
Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 451. Production, interactions and structure of subatomic particles, including radioactivity, accelerators, detectors, classification of elementary particles, quark model, nuclear properties, nuclear models and nuclear reactions. Available for graduate credit.
PHYS 480. Introduction to Solid State Physics (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 311, PHYS 375. Structure of crystals; electron theory of metals; theory of semiconductors; and mechanical, electrical and magnetic behavior of substances in the solid state. Available for graduate credit.
PHYS 489. Mathematical Methods in Physics II (3)
Prerequisite: PHYS 389 or graduate standing; Preparatory: MATH 380, PHYS 375 (may be taken concurrently). Topics include complex variables, ordinary and partial differential equations, special functions, and boundary value problems with physical applications. Available for graduate credit.
PHYS 490. Computer Applications in Physics (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 301 and PHYS 365, or instructor consent. Applications of numerical analysis and computer programming to the solution of problems in classical and modern physics. Available for graduate credit.
PHYS 493. Physics and Astronomy Colloquium (1-1-1)
Preparatory: Junior, senior or graduate standing in Physics. Series of lectures presented weekly by faculty members and invited speakers on topics of current interest in physics, astronomy and related fields. Available for graduate credit. May be repeated twice for credit.
PHYS 495A-C. Directed Undergraduate Research (1-3)
Preparatory: PHYS 365; Senior-standing. Program of original, independent research to be carried out under the direction of one of the physics faculty. May be repeated for credit: maximum six units.
PHYS 496A-Z. Experimental Topics Courses in Physics (1-3)
Experimental courses in Physics, with course content to be determined.
PHYS 497. Senior Project (3)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. This is a senior project course. In it, students work independently throughout the semester on a project assigned by their faculty advisor. Students are required to find a faculty advisor before the course starts. Student project work is done independently, but class will meet weekly to discuss progress, practice talks, writing, and work on practice problems before taking a comprehensive exam in the last week of the semester. Students will write a report and give a presentation on their project at the end of the semester.
PHYS 498. Undergraduate Thesis (3)
Preparatory: Admission to Honors Program in Physics.
PHYS 499. Independent Study (1-3)
See Independent Study under Courses of Study.
PHYS 585. Computational Materials Theory (3)
Prerequisite: PHYS 451 or PHYS 650 or instructor permission. Introduction to the mathematical and physical principles underlying computational materials theory based on quantum mechanics. Topics will include the density functional theory– the cornerstone of modern electronic structure calculations for atoms, molecules, and solids. We will also cover quantum transport, magnetism, and many body physics. The emphasis is to develop theoretical models for real materials and solve the problem by applying advanced numerical methods. The course is aimed at advanced undergraduates and graduate students in understanding advanced physics in material science through hands-on research projects.
PHYS 595A-Z. Experimental Topics Courses (1-3)
No course description.
PHYS 600. Classical Mechanics (4)
Preparatory: PHYS 402, PHYS 410, PHYS 451. Advanced course in classical mechanics, with topics selected from Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics, continuum mechanics, nonlinear systems and chaos.
PHYS 601. Selected Topics in Astrophysics (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 375, PHYS 402, PHYS 410. Advanced treatment of the observational and theoretical foundations of astrophysics. Topics may include stellar structure, radio sources, relativistic cosmology, the origin of the elements and galaxy formation.
PHYS 610. Electromagnetic Theory (4)
Preparatory: PHYS 410, PHYS 489. Advanced theoretical treatment of the electrostatic field with introduction of mathematical techniques. Introduction to electromagnetic waves and radiation from sources.
PHYS 630. Statistical Physics (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 431, PHYS 451, PHYS 600. Theoretical foundations of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics for equilibrium and non-equilibrium systems. Applications to Bose and Fermi assemblies, real gases, liquids, solids, solutions, phase transitions and chemical reactions.
PHYS 640. General Relativity (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 402, PHYS 410. Introduction to the mathematics and physics of curved space-time. Gravitational fields as curvature of space-time. Einsteins gravitational field equations, solutions and experimental tests. Application to topics of current interest in relativistic astrophysics, particle physics and field theory.
PHYS 650. Quantum Mechanics I (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 451. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 600. Mathematical foundation of quantum theory. Scattering theory. Angular momentum and spin. Identical particles. Heisenberg and Schrodinger representations. Perturbation theory.
PHYS 651. Quantum Mechanics II (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 650. Relativistic wave equations. Advanced scattering theory. Selected topics from quantum theory of atoms and molecules.
PHYS 680. Solid State Physics I (3)
Preparatory: PHYS 451 or PHYS 480. Advanced treatment of condensed matter physics. Topics include crystal structure, cohesive energy, lattice vibrations, Sommerfeld theory of metals, electronic structure theory and theory of semiconductors.
PHYS 696A-C. Directed Graduate Research (1-3)
No course description.
PHYS 697. Directed Comprehensive Studies (1)
Prerequisite: Consent of the graduate coordinator. (Credit/No Credit Only)
PHYS 698. Thesis (3-6)
Preparatory: Classified graduate status; Permission of the department; Instructor’s consent to serve as thesis advisor. Dissertation of a specialized advanced topic in physics such as a critical evaluation and extension of an existing theoretical treatment, the construction and use of advanced research apparatus or an original theoretical analysis.
PHYS 699. Independent Study (1-6)
Preparatory: At least one graduate course in Physics; Instructor consent. Investigation of a special topic in physics, with emphasis on advanced theoretical or experimental skills. See Independent Study under Courses of Study.