Physics and Astronomy

Prerequisite: MATH 105 or MATH 106, or sufficient preparation 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.)

Prerequisite: MATH 105 or MATH 106, or sufficient preparation 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.)

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.)

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.)

An introduction to the most interesting and important topics in physics and their implications for current events, stressing conceptual understanding rather than math, and critically analyzing scientific information. Topics covered include energy conservation, radioactivity, nuclear physics, the theory of relativity, lasers, explosions, earthquakes, UFOs, climate change, and quantum physics. 3 hours of lecture per week. …

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.

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.

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.

Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 227. 3 hours per week.

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.

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 …

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 …

Preparatory: MATH 250, MATH 280; PHYS 227; Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 389. Vector calculus, electrostatics, magnetostatics, Faradays Law and introduction to Maxwell’s equations.

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Why do ice skaters spin faster when they pull their arms in? Why does a golf ball have dimples? How does a baseball pitcher make a ball curve? Why does a quarterback throw a spiral? These and similar questions can be understood via the laws of physics. …

Prerequisite: COMP 110/L or COMP 111B/L; Preparatory: MATH 250, MATH 280; PHYS 227, PHYS 227L; Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: PHYS 389. Introduction to computational physics with application to topics including dynamical systems, celestial mechanics, climate science, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and other topics chosen by the instructor. Students will use a modern programming language to implement numerical …

Preparatory: MATH 250, MATH 280; PHYS 227 and PHYS 227L, 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 two experimental modules for …

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.

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.

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.

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.

Preparatory: PHYS 301, PHYS 311, PHYS 389. Maxwell’s equations and applications, electromagnetic waves, radiation and special relativity. Available for graduate credit.

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.

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.

Preparatory: PHYS 311, PHYS 375. Hydrogen atom, angular momentum, spin, matrix representation, quantum statistics, perturbation theory and scattering. Available for graduate credit.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Experimental courses in Physics, with course content to be determined.

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, …

Preparatory: Admission to Honors Program in Physics.

See Independent Study under Courses of Study.

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 …

Prerequisite: PHYS 451. The lectures cover a wide area of topics ranging from electronic structure, to mechanical properties, to experimental methods of multiferroic systems. Upon completing the course, the student will gain a good overview of multiferroic materials ranging from history to devices applications. Different types of multiferroic materials will be studied with basic crystal …

Experimental Topics

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Preparatory: PHYS 650. Relativistic wave equations. Advanced scattering theory. Selected topics from quantum theory of atoms and molecules.

Directed Graduate Research

Prerequisite: Consent of the graduate coordinator. (Credit/No Credit Only)

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.

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.