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University Bulletin: Undergraduate Programs 2003-2004 The George Washington University  

 
    
 
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PHYSICS

 

Professors D.R. Lehman, B.L. Berman, L.C. Maximon (Research), W.C. Parke (Interim Chair), W.J. Briscoe, C. Bennhold, M.E. Reeves

Associate Professors H. Haberzettl, K.S. Dhuga, G. Feldman, I. Strakovsky (Research), R.L. Workman (Research), A. Eskandarian, F.X. Lee, A. Opper, C. Zeng

Assistant Professors W. Peng, H. Griesshammer, A. Nijdam (Research), A.M. Micherdzinska (Research), G. Wang (Research)

Professorial Lecturers B. Ratnam, J.T. Broach, M.F. Corcoran

Master of Science in the field of physics—Prerequisite: a bachelor’s degree with a major in physics at this University, or an equivalent degree.

Required: the general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, and 36 credit hours of graduate course work, including Phys 209, 211, 213, 221, 224, 225, 250, 281, and either two courses chosen from Phys 231, 233, 234, 243 or, for the thesis option, Phys 299—300.

Doctor of Philosophy in the field of physics—Required: the general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, including the following required courses: Phys 209, 211, 213—14, 221—22, 224, 225, 231, 233 or 243, and 250.

Research fields: nuclear physics—experimental and theoretical studies on the structure, electromagnetic and weak and strong interactions, and scattering of few-body systems at low and intermediate energies; biophysics and condensed-matter physics—experimental studies using scanning probe-based near-field microscopy, statistical and computational biophysics in protein design, bionetworks and evolution; theoretical and observational astrophysics, interdisciplinary physics, including coherent radiation physics, and applied physics, including medical physics.

With permission, a limited number of 100-level courses in the department may be taken for graduate credit; additional course work is required. See the Undergraduate Programs Bulletin for course listings.

Departmental prerequisite: Consent of a departmental graduate advisor is required for admission to all 200-level courses in physics.

209 Mathematical Methods of Theoretical Physics (4) Griesshammer, Workman, Lee
  Calculus of variations. Group theory. Tensor calculus. Hilbert spaces. Operator theory. Orthogonal function expansions. Partial differential equations. Green’s function method. Integral equations. Complex variables. Analytic functions. (Fall)
211 Advanced Mechanics (4) Parke, Haberzettl
  Analytic methods of mechanics as a basis for modern theory; variational principles, Lagrange’s equations, Hamiltonian formulation, canonical transformations, classical perturbation theory, non-linear systems, special relativity. (Fall)
213 Electrodynamics and Classical Field Theory (4) Griesshammer, Lee
  Principles of electrostatics and magnetostatics and classical field theory. Maxwell’s equations from least-action and symmetry principles, time-varying fields, and plane-wave propagation. Radiating systems and scattering of radiation, including multipole fields. Dynamics of relativistic particles and radiation from moving charges. Microscopic parameters and macroscopic observables. (Spring)
221—22 Quantum Mechanics (4—4) Griesshammer, Lee, Haberzettl
  Principles. Representations. Transformation theory. Schrödinger and Heisenberg pictures. Angular momentum algebra. Perturbation theory. Scattering theory. Relativistic quantum mechanics. Introduction to relativistic quantum field theory. First-order electromagnetic processes. Many-body theory. (Academic year)
224 Statistical Mechanics (4) Zeng, Peng
  Classical and quantum statistics. Statistical entropy, fluctuations. Ensemble theory. Partition functions. Density matrices. Applications to magnetic systems, ideal Fermi—Dirac and Bose—Einstein systems, blackbody radiation, phonons. Renormalization group. Phase transitions and critical phenomena. (Fall)
225 Graduate Laboratory (3) Feldman, Reeves
  Selected experiments on nuclear and solid-state physics. Laboratory fee. (Fall and spring)
231 Quantum Field Theory I (3) Griesshammer, Parke
  Local field theory and symmetry principles, field quantization, perturbation calculations, first-order electromagnetic and weak processes, divergence difficulties. (Fall)
232 Quantum Field Theory II (3) Griesshammer, Parke
  Covariant presentation of general theory of quantized fields, path-history quantization, theory of the S-matrix, dispersion relations, and renormalization program. (Spring)
233 Nuclear Physics (3) Briscoe, Haberzettl, Griesshammer
  Nuclear interactions, nuclear models, theory of nuclear reactions, pion physics, weak interactions, and electromagnetic interactions. (Fall and spring)
243 Solid-State Physics: Structure and Binding (3) Reeves, Zeng
  Crystal structure and binding; the reciprocal lattice, X-ray diffraction. Elastic properties, thermal, electric, optical and magnetic properties of solids, dislocations, and other defects. (Fall)
250 Communications in Physics (0 to 3) Staff
  Student presentations on advanced topics in physics.
251 Selected Topics in Theoretical Nuclear Physics (3) Haberzettl, Bennhold, Lee, Griesshammer
  May be repeated once for credit with permission of graduate advisor.
252 Selected Topics in Experimental Nuclear Physics (3) Berman, Briscoe, Feldman, Opper
  May be repeated once for credit with permission of graduate advisor.
253 Selected Topics in Theoretical Condensed-Matter Physics (3) Zeng
  May be repeated once for credit with permission of graduate advisor.
254 Selected Topics in Experimental Condensed-Matter Physics (3) Reeves
  May be repeated once for credit with permission of graduate advisor.
255 Selected Topics in Astrophysics (3) Dhuga, Maximon, Parke
  May be repeated once for credit with permission of graduate advisor.
281—83 Computational Physics I—III (1 each) Griesshammer, Haberzettl, Lee, Peng, Zeng
  Phys 281 is taken in conjunction with Phys 209 and 211; Phys 282, with Phys 213 and 221; Phys 282, with Phys 222 and 224.
291 Seminar (1) Staff
  Lectures on current topics in physics. May be repeated twice for credit.
299—300 Thesis Research (3—3) Staff
398 Advanced Reading and Research (arr.) Staff
  Limited to students preparing for the Doctor of Philosophy general examination. May be repeated once for credit.
399 Dissertation Research (arr.) Staff
  Limited to Doctor of Philosophy candidates. May be repeated for credit.
 

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© 2009 University Bulletin
The George Washington University All rights reserved.

Information in this bulletin is generally accurate as of fall 2008. The University reserves the right to change courses, programs, fees, and the academic calendar, or to make other changes deemed necessary or desirable, giving advance notice of change when possible.