Program Description
Physics has always remained and still is at the center of science and technology. The laws of physics that are reached through observations and careful experimentation find applications from the subatomic particles to the astronomic formations such as stars and galaxies. On the other hand, the design of advanced technology materials, fabrication of semiconductor devices, the development of optical communication systems have all evolved as applications of physics. Our department has both theoretical and experimental research activities. Quantum information theory, gravitation, and condensed matter physics are among our theoretical research interests. On the experimental research side, we have three advanced laboratories where we focus on solid state lasers, optoelectronic and nano-photonic materials and devices. Our Ph.D. Program aims at teaching fundamental physics at a high level and coupling this knowledge with a research experience in either theoretical or applied physics depending on the interests of the student.
Students who are admitted with an M.S. degree must complete at least 21 credits of coursework. They must also complete the core courses in the “M.S. in Physics” program. Students with a B.S. degree must complete an additional 21 credits of coursework by taking courses in the M.S. program.
Research areas of interest
- Photonic & Laser Materials
- Microphotonics
- Nanophotonics
- Quantum physics, gravitation
- Quantum optics, atomic, molecular and optical physics
- Statistical mechanics of biophysical systems
Faculty & Research Areas
Tekin Dereli , Professor, Ph.D. METU, 1976
Quantum information theory, phase space quantization, standard electroweak theory and string models, generalized theories of gravitation, gravitational waves.
Ali Mostafazadeh , Professor, Ph.D. U. Texas-Austin, 1994
PT-symmetric quantum mechanics, geometric phase in quantum mechanics, topological quantum symmetries, supersymmetry and parasupersymmetry, quantum cosmologies.
Özgür Mustecaplıoğlu , Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Bilkent U., 1999
Quantum optics, atomic, molecular and optical physics, photonics.
Alkan Kabakçıoğlu , Assistant Professor, Ph.D. MIT, 1999
Statistical mechanics of complex systems, structure and folding of biomolecules.
Regulation of gene expression in cells.
Alper Kiraz , Assistant Professor, Ph.D. U. Calif. Santa Barbara, 2002
Nano-optics, single molecule spectroscopy, optoelectronics.
Alphan Sennaroğlu , Professor, Ph.D. Cornell U. 1994
Development and modelling of solid state lasers, ultrashort optical pulse generation, non-linear optics and spectroscopy.
Ali Serpengüzel , Associate Professor, Ph. D. Yale U. 1992
Photonics, optoelectronics, nanophotonics, biophotonics, non-linear optics, laser diagnostics.
Curriculum
In addition to the following courses, students in this program can take any of the courses listed under the “M.S. in Physics” program or from other courses not listed here in accordance with their areas of specialization and subject to the approval of their advisors.
In addition, each student has to take a seminar course,
PHYS 590 Seminar. Students working towards the thesis register for
PHYS 695 Ph.D. Thesis. Students who have TA assignments must take
TEAC 500: Teaching Experience during the semesters of their assignments. Students must also take
ENGL 500: Graduate Writing course.
PHYS 504 Advanced Quantum Mechanics II
PHYS 505 Classical Electromechanics II
PHYS 507 Statistical Mechanics II
PHYS 508 Optical and Laser Spectroscopy
PHYS 509 Condensed Matter Physics I
PHYS 510 Condensed Matter Physics II
PHYS 511 Selected Topics in Theoretical Physics
PHYS 512 Selected Topics in Applied Physics
PHYS 513 /MATH 503 Applied Mathematics I
PHYS 514 / MATH 505 Applied Mathematics II
PHYS 515 Classical Field Theories
PHYS 516 General Relativity and Astrophysics
PHYS 517 Quantum Field Theories I
PHYS 518 Quantum Field Theories II
PHYS 519 Group Theory and Its Applications in Physics
PHYS 520 Optical Mico-cavities
PHYS 521/ ECOE 521 Photonics and Lasers
PHYS 522 Atom Optics
PHYS 523 Introduction to Quantum Communication and Information Physics
PHYS 524 Single Molecule Optics
PHYS 525/ ECOE 525 Photonic Materials and Devices
PHYS 526 Femtosecond Optics and Lasers
PHYS 527 Complex Dynamical Systems
PHYS 580 Selected Topics in Physics
Course Descriptions
PHYS 504 Advanced Quantum Mechanics II
Rotations and angular momentum. Discretesymmetry operations. WKB approximation. Geometric phase. Formal theory of scattering.
PHYS 505 Classical Electrodynamics II
Electromagnetic wave propagation in metallic and dielectric wave guides. Resonance cavities. Theory of diffraction. Special theory of relativity. Radiation by moving charges.
PHYS 507 Statistical Mechanics II
Phase diagrams. Critical phenomena and universal scaling. Mean field and Landau theories. Kadanoff scaling theory. Position space and momentum space renormalization. Chaotic renormalization groups and spin-glass order. Quenched disordered and frustrated systems. Phase diagrams of quantum spin and electronic conductivity models.
PHYS 508 Optical and Laser Spectroscopy (Also PHYS 408 / MASE 550)
Interaction of electromagnetic radiation with atoms and molecules, rotational spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, electronic spectroscopy, spectroscopic instrumentation, lasers as spectroscopic light sources, fundamentals of lasers, nonlinear optical spectroscopy, laser Raman spectroscopy.
PHYS 509 Condensed Matter Physics I (Also PHYS 409)
Free electron theory of metals. Crystal lattices. Reciprocal lattice. Classification of Bravais lattices. X-ray diffraction and the determination of crystal structures. Electrons in a periodic potential. Tight binding method. Band structures. Semi-classical theory of conduction in metals. Fermi surface. Surface effects.
PHYS 510 Condensed Matter Physics II
Classification of solids. Theory of harmonic crystals. Phonons and phonon dispersion relations. Anharmonic effects in crystals. Phonons in metals. Dielectric properties of insulators. Semiconductors. Diamagnetismand paramagnetism. Electron interactions and magnetic structure. Magnetic ordering. Superconductivity.
PHYS 511 Selected Topics in Theoretical Physics
PHYS 512 Selected Topics in Applied Physics
PHYS 513 Applied Mathematics I (Also MATH 503)
Linear algebra: Vector and inner product spaces, linear operators, eigenvalue problems; Vector calculus: Review of differential and integral calculus, divergence and Stokes' theorems. Ordinary differential equations: Linear equations, Sturm-Liouville theory and orthogonal functions, system of linear equations; Methods of mathematics for science and engineering students.
PHYS 514 Applied Mathematics II (Also MATH 505)
Calculus of variations; Partial differential equations: First order linear equations and the method of characteristics; Solution of Laplace, wave, and diffusion equations; Special functions; Integral equations.
PHYS 515 Classical Field Theories
Lorentz transformations and Minkowski space-time. Tensors and spinors. Variational formulation of relativistic wave equations. Noether theorem: Symmetries and conservation laws.
PHYS 516 General Relativity and Astrophysics
Basic differential geometric concepts. Space-time metric and connection. Curvature and torsion tensors. Einstein field equations. Gravitational waves. Black holes. Big bang cosmologies.
PHYS 517 Quantized Field Theories I
Quantization of free fields. Propagators. Interacting fields and the S-matrix. Loop expansion of the S-matrix and Feynman diagrams. Path integral techniques. QED. Radiative corrections. Renormalization. Effective field theories.
PHYS 518 Quantized Field Theories II
Introduction to non-Abelian gauge field theories. QCD. Spontaneous symmetry breakdown and mass generation. Standard model of electroweak interactions. Non-perturbative effects. Supersymmetry.
PHYS 519 Group Theory and Its Applications in Physics
Invariances of the Schrödinger equation. Conservation laws and spectrum degeneracies. Parity and time-reversal symmetries. Translation symmetries on lattices. Crystallographic space groups. SO(3) rotation group. Unitary transformations. Symmetries in nuclear and elementary particle physics. SU(2) and isospin. SU(3) and strangeness.
PHYS 521 Photonics and Lasers (AlsoECOE 521)
Review of electromagnetism; electromagnetic nature of light, radiation, geometrical optics, Gaussian beams, transformation of Gaussian beams; electromagnetic modes of an optical resonator, interaction of light with matter, classical theory of absorption and dispersion, broadening processes, Rayleigh scattering, quantum theory of spontaneous and stimulated emission, optical amplification, theory of laser oscillation, examples of laser systems, Q switching and mode locking of lasers.
Prerequisite: ELEC 206 or PHYS 302 or consent of the instructor.
PHYS 520 Optical Micro-cavities
Optical micro-cavities. Fabry-Perot cavity. Quality factor. Finesse. Free-spectral bands. Whispering gallery modes. Coupling. Photonic molecules, glasses, crystals and meta-materials.
PHYS 522 Atom Optics
Quantized atomic models. Spectroscopy. Light-atom interactions. Radiative transitions. Atom-atom interactions. Magnetic interactions of atoms. Molecular structure. Multi-electron systems. Trapping ions or atoms. Atom optics. Bose-Einstein condensation. Atomic chips. Quantum computation by matter waves and trapped ions.
PHYS 523 Introduction to Quantum Communication and Information Physics
Quantum theory of light. Coherent light. Non-classical states of light. Quantum interferometry. Quantum measurements. Interaction of light with matter. Cavity quantum electrodynamics. Quantum entanglement and quantum teleportation. Non-linear optics. Photonic band gaps. Quantum information theory and the fundamental principles of quantum computation.
PHYS 524 Single-Molecule Optics
Principles of optical microscopes. Microscopy methods. Photo-physics of dye molecules. Exciting fluorescence and its observation. Dipole radiation near planar interfaces. Photon-counting analysis. Flourescence correlation spectroscopy. Flourescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Optical spectroscopy at low temperatures. Semiconducting nano-crystals. Metallic nano-particles.
PHYS 525 Photonic Materials and Devices (Also ECOE 525)
Survey of the properties and applications of photonic materials and devices; semiconductors; photon detectors, light emitting diodes, noise in light detection systems; light propagation in anisotropic media, Pockels and Kerr effects, light modulators, electromagnetic wave propagation in dielectric waveguides, waveguide dispersion; nonlinear optical materials, second harmonic generation, Raman converters.
Prerequisite : ELEC 206 or PHYS 302 or consent of the instructor.
PHYS 526 Femtosecond Optics and Lasers
Survey of the techniques for the generation of picosecond and femtosecond pulses from lasers; active and passive mode locking, saturable absorbers, master equation, theory of Kerr lens mode locking; propagation of ultrashort pulses in nonlinear and dispersive media; Measurement and characterization of ultrashort pulses; applications of femtosecond lasers in spectroscopy, medicine, and industry.
PHYS 527 Complex Dynamical Systems
Random walk problems and probability concepts. Theory of polymers. Statistical mechanical concepts with emphasois on self-avoiding walks and biological polymer models: ensembles, free energy, entropy, scaling. Lattices as interacting models of random systems and phase transitions. Dynamical phenomena: Master equation (Examples: random walk and lattice growth), Langevin equation and its generalizations. Chaos and order.
PHYS 580 Selected Topics in Physics
Topics will be announced when offered.
PHYS 590 Seminar
A series of lectures given by faculty or outside speakers. Participating students must also make presentations during the semester.
PHYS 695 Ph.D. Thesis
Independent research towards Ph.D. degree.
TEAC 500 Teaching Experience
Provides hands-on teaching experience to graduate students in undergraduate courses. Reinforces students' understanding of basic concepts and allows them to communicate and apply their knowledge of the subject matter.
ENGL 500 Graduate Writing
This is a writing course specifically designed to improve academic writing skills as well as critical reading and thinking. The course objectives will be met through extensive reading, writing and discussion both in and out of class. Student performance will be assessed and graded by Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.
