Integrated Ph.D. program in physics (OLD)

Course structure

The course work is divided into four or six semesters spread over a period two or three years depending on whether the student has enrolled for the regular or the integrated Ph.D. program. Each semester is of roughly four months duration. The students are taught basic as well as advanced courses in physics and they also get to work on, at least, two projects. Follow the links below for the course schedule and syllabus.

Course schedule

Syllabus

Grading and exemptions

Projects

Timetable


Thesis work

The students are expected to start working on their thesis soon after the completion of their course work and projects. Follow the links below for the various aspects related to thesis work.

Areas of research

Choosing an advisor

Registering for the Ph.D.

Annual evaluation

Duration


Course schedule


For integrated M.Sc.-Ph.D. students

Semester I, August - December

  1. Classical Mechanics
  2. Quantum Mechanics I
  3. Mathematical Methods I
  4. Research Methodology and Numerical Methods

Semester II, January - May

  1. Classical Electrodynamics
  2. Statistical Mechanics
  3. Quantum Mechanics II
  4. Mathematical Methods II
  5. Project

Summer, May 15 - June 30

  1. Experimental Physics I

Semester III, August - December

Choose between Atomic Molecular Physics and General Relativity.

  1. Quantum Field Theory I
  2. Atomic Molecular Physics
  3. Condensed Matter Physics I
  4. General Theory of Relativity
  5. Project

Semester IV, January - May

Choose any two out of five topics listed below. Project is mandatory.

  1. Astrophysics
  2. Condensed Matter Physics II
  3. Particle Physics
  4. Quantum Field Theory II
  5. Quantum Information and Computation
  6. Project

Summer, May 15 - June 30

  1. Experimental Physics II

Semester V, August - December

  1. Special Topic/Reading Course
  2. Big Project

Syllabus

A brief outline of the syllabus of the various courses is given below. The courses are listed in alphabetical order.


Advanced Topics in Quantum and Statistical Mechanics


Astrophysics


Atomic, Molecular Physics


Classical Electrodynamics


Classical Mechanics


Condensed Matter Physics I


Condensed Matter Physics II

The course will consist of any two of A-E.

Part A: Mesoscopics and spintronics:
  1. Foundation: Low dimensional systems: Quantum Wells, Wires and Quantum Dots, one and two dimensional heterostructures, coupled wells and super- lattices. Density of states in low dimensional systems
  2. Charge Transport: Transmission and its relation to conductance, Landauer theory of coherent charge transport - phenomenology as well scattering theory. Transmission function and its relation to S matrix and Greens function. Non-equilibrium Greens function and its relation to Landauer-Buttiker theory.
  3. Noise in Charge transport: Thermal and Shot Noise in Mesoscopic conductors. Scattering theory of Shot noise and its application.
  4. Spintronics: 1: Introduction to spintronics.(Datta-Das spin transistor) 2: Spin currents: Equilibrium and non-equilibrium spin currents and their measurement and its relation to spin-Hall effect, generalized Landauer-Buttiker theory for coupled charge and spin transport. 3: Tunnel Magneto-resistance and spin currents 4: Spin Shot Noise, Entanglement generation and its detection.
Part B: Electronic structure
  1. Physics at low dimensions: surface physics--surface states, reconstructions, adsorption on surfaces; atomic wires and clusters
  2. Treating electron-electron interactions: Hartree-Fock approximation, the electron gas; Density functional theory: as a theory of interacting electrons, and a framework to do calculations for systems discussed 1.
  3. Anharmonic effects in crystals: Thermal expansion, lattice thermal conductivity, Umklapp precesses.
  4. Phonons in Metals: Kohn anomaly, dielectric constant, temperature dependence of electrical resistivity.
  5. Dielectric properties of insulators.
  6. Elementary exciations in solids: plasmons, magnons etc.
Part C: Mesoscopics and interacting systems:
  1. Quantum Hall effect
  2. Quantum dots and quantum wires
  3. Kondo effect
  4. Spin systems
  5. Fermi liquid theory
  6. Non-Fermi liquids
  7. Bosonisation and Luttinger liquids
  8. Quantum phase transitions
Part D: Non equilibrium classical physics:
  1. Dynamic critical phenomena and their classification, dynamic scaling concepts, introduction to dynamical renormalization group
  2. Statistical mechanics of non-equilibrium systems: Kinetics of phase-ordering, Dynamic and static scaling concepts in surface growth and morphology, reaction-diffusion systems, phenomenological theories.
  3. Basic concepts in stochastic processes, Langevin and Fokker-Planck equations, Markov processes.
  4. Random walk in 1,2 and 3 dimensions and their various applications, anomalous diffusion.
Part E: Correlated electrons:
  1. Mott physics: electron localisation, magnetic order, doped phase, physics in the cuprates.
  2. Kondo systems: physics of the single impurity, dense systems - Kondo and Anderson lattice, heavy fermions, quantum criticality.
  3. Metallic magnets: ferromagnetism in strongly repulsive systems, the transition metals, spin-fermion systems, the double exchange model, the classical Kondo lattice.
  4. Electron-phonon coupling: the classical theory, polaron formation, many electron systems, polaron ordering, physics in the manganites.
  5. Disorder in interacting systems: illustrative examples.

Experimental Physics I and II


General Theory of Relativity


Mathematical Methods I


Mathematical Methods II


Particle Physics


Project

All regular as well as the integrated Ph.D. students are expected to do two projects with the faculty members. The students are advised to choose projects so that, at least one of them will eventually lead to the topic of their thesis.


Quantum Field Theory I


Quantum Field Theory II


Quantum Information and Computation


Quantum Mechanics I


Quantum Mechanics II


Research Methodology and Numerical Methods


Statistical Mechanics


Special Topics/Reading Courses

The following courses will be offered either as a special topic or as a reading course, depending on the number of students opting for them.

  1. Cosmology
  2. String theory
  3. Supersymmetry
  4. Galactic dynamics
  5. Quantum many body theory
  6. Non-equilibrium statistical mechanics
  7. Special topics in quantum field theory
  8. Field theory in curved spacetime
  9. Mesoscopic physics and spintronics

Grading and exemptions

Grading

The grading of the courses will be based on continuous assessment and an end-of-semester exam.

Exemptions

Students who are very confident of their mastery of the course material can ask the course instructor to give them a test at the start of the course. If they pass this test, they can be exempt from attending the course, further examinations, etc.. The request for an exemption test is not automatically granted, it depends on prior impression about the ability of the student and interaction between the student and course instructor. Even if an instructor does not allow test based exemption in a particular case, he/she may allow the student to be absent from the regular lectures, but submit all assignments/projects, and take all the tests.


Areas of research

At HRI, research in physics is conducted in the following five areas:

For further details about the research carried out in physics at HRI, click here.


Choosing an advisor

The students are expected to choose their advisor by/before the end of their course work. Though it need not necessarily be so, it would be advisable for students to choose projects such that at least one of them will lead to their thesis topic.


Registering for the Ph.D.

The students are expected to register for their Ph.D. soon after they have chosen their thesis advisor.


Annual evaluation

Students pursuing Ph.D. have to give a seminar before July 31 every year until they have submitted their thesis.


Duration of the Ph.D.

All students are expected to submit their thesis within five years of joining HRI.

Harish-Chandra Research Institute
Chhatnag Road, Jhusi
Allahabad 211 019, India
Phone: +91 (532) 2667 510, 2667 511, 2668 311, 2668 313, 2668 314
Fax: +91 (532) 2567 748, 2567 444

Physics Graduate Programme <physgradp at hri dot res dot in>
Updated: September 03, 2016 T22:25:33Z

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