During the first quarter (October-December) the student must take the following courses
ADVANCED QUANTUM MECHANICS
Relativistic quantum mechanics. Path Integrals. WKB Method. Coherent states and particle creation by a classical source. Landau Levels. Berry’s Phase. Introduction to quantum open systems: entanglement, superoperators, master equations.
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
Relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Scalar fields. Photons and the electromagnetic field. Electrons and the Dirac field. Perturbation theory and Feynman diagrams. Basics of loop diagrams.
QUANTUM OPTICS AND INFORMATION
Field quantization. Coherent states. Atom-field interactions: semiclassical and fully quantum; Jaynes-Cummings model. Quantum coherence functions. Beam splitters and interferometers. Nonclassical light. Dissipative interactions and decoherence. Trapped ions. Introduction to quantum information.
QUANTUM STATISTICAL MECHANICS AND CONDENSED MATTER
Ideal quantum gases. Many body systems and second quantization. Interacting quantum gases. The degenerate electron gas. Spontaneous symmetry breaking: superconductivity and superfluidity. Introduction to the renormalization group.
Each compulsory course involves 4 hours per week of lectures, equivalent to 5 ECTS.
OPTIONAL COURSES:
Five optional courses must be taken during the second quarter (January-March). Each course involves 3 hours per week of lectures, equivalent to 4 ECTS. The list of optional courses actually offered will depend on the number and interests of the students and may vary from year to year. At least the following courses will be offered next year (2016-17):
COLD MATTER PHYSICS
Introduction to ultracold atom physics. Atom-light interaction. Laser cooling and trapping. Bose-Einstein condensation. Gross-Pitaevskii theory. Bogoliubov theory. Optical lattices and tight binding models.
FIELDS AND PARTICLES
Topics selected among the following: Electromagnetic and weak interactions, Quantum Chromo Dynamics, Unification, Higgs particle, Elementary particles, Supersymmetry, Primordial Nucleosynthesis, Topological defects, Cosmic Rays.
Concepts on General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory. Quantum field theory in curved space times. Quantum mechanics in the early universe. Inflation. Gravitational waves. Perturbations in cosmology.
QUANTUM INFORMATION
Branches of quantum information: Communications, metrology, simulation, computation. The entanglement advantage. Entanglement and interferometry. Quantum random number generator. Different architectures for quantum information. Gates for quantum computation.
QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES
The second quantum revolution. Quantum metrology: The atomic clock and other ultraprecise devices. Quantum teleportation. Quantum cryptography and communications. Gates for quantum computation.
SUPERSTRINGS AND SUPERSYMMETRY
Supersymmetry. Supergravity. Superparticles. Superstrings. Super-P-branes, D-branes. ADS/CFT correspondence and applications. Other recent developments.
TOPICS IN FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS
Density Functional Theory (theory and practice). Several topics in condensed matter physics, such as electron-phonon coupling and superconductivity, electronic and magnetic linear response: magnons and plasmons, topological insulators.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION of other possible COURSES
ADVANCED QUANTUM OPTICS
Introduction: classical atom-field interactions. Quantum state: Pictures, Wigner distribution, P and Q functions. Semiclassical theory: Rate equations, Two-level system, Three-level systems. Quantum theory of light-matter interactions: Quantization of the EM field, cavity QED and Jaynes-Cummings model, spontaneous emission.
MATHEMATICAL TOOLS
Probability and statistics: data description, probability distributions, errors, estimators, minimum chi-square, likelihood methods. Approximate methods for integrals and differential equations: perturbation theory, multi-scale methods, saddle point method.
SEMICONDUCTOR PHYSICS, TRANSPORT AND SPINTRONICS
Semiconductor nanostructures: quantum wells, quantum wires, and quantum dots. Quantum Hall effect in two-dimensional electron systems. Graphene as an ideally two-dimensional material. Quantum transport in one-dimensional systems. Quantum dots as spin-based qubits. Spin-orbit coupling and spin manipulation by electric field.
Courses
COMPULSORY COURSES:
During the first quarter (October-December) the student must take the following courses
ADVANCED QUANTUM MECHANICS
Relativistic quantum mechanics. Path Integrals. WKB Method. Coherent states and particle creation by a classical source. Landau Levels. Berry’s Phase. Introduction to quantum open systems: entanglement, superoperators, master equations.
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
Relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Scalar fields. Photons and the electromagnetic field. Electrons and the Dirac field. Perturbation theory and Feynman diagrams. Basics of loop diagrams.
QUANTUM OPTICS AND INFORMATION
Field quantization. Coherent states. Atom-field interactions: semiclassical and fully quantum; Jaynes-Cummings model. Quantum coherence functions. Beam splitters and interferometers. Nonclassical light. Dissipative interactions and decoherence. Trapped ions. Introduction to quantum information.
QUANTUM STATISTICAL MECHANICS AND CONDENSED MATTER
Ideal quantum gases. Many body systems and second quantization. Interacting quantum gases. The degenerate electron gas. Spontaneous symmetry breaking: superconductivity and superfluidity. Introduction to the renormalization group.
Each compulsory course involves 4 hours per week of lectures, equivalent to 5 ECTS.
OPTIONAL COURSES:
Five optional courses must be taken during the second quarter (January-March). Each course involves 3 hours per week of lectures, equivalent to 4 ECTS. The list of optional courses actually offered will depend on the number and interests of the students and may vary from year to year. At least the following courses will be offered next year (2016-17):
COLD MATTER PHYSICS
Introduction to ultracold atom physics. Atom-light interaction. Laser cooling and trapping. Bose-Einstein condensation. Gross-Pitaevskii theory. Bogoliubov theory. Optical lattices and tight binding models.
FIELDS AND PARTICLES
Topics selected among the following: Electromagnetic and weak interactions, Quantum Chromo Dynamics, Unification, Higgs particle, Elementary particles, Supersymmetry, Primordial Nucleosynthesis, Topological defects, Cosmic Rays.
QUANTUM ASPECTS OF COSMOLOGY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Concepts on General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory. Quantum field theory in curved space times. Quantum mechanics in the early universe. Inflation. Gravitational waves. Perturbations in cosmology.
QUANTUM INFORMATION
Branches of quantum information: Communications, metrology, simulation, computation. The entanglement advantage. Entanglement and interferometry. Quantum random number generator. Different architectures for quantum information. Gates for quantum computation.
QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES
The second quantum revolution. Quantum metrology: The atomic clock and other ultraprecise devices. Quantum teleportation. Quantum cryptography and communications. Gates for quantum computation.
SUPERSTRINGS AND SUPERSYMMETRY
Supersymmetry. Supergravity. Superparticles. Superstrings. Super-P-branes, D-branes. ADS/CFT correspondence and applications. Other recent developments.
TOPICS IN FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS
Density Functional Theory (theory and practice). Several topics in condensed matter physics, such as electron-phonon coupling and superconductivity, electronic and magnetic linear response: magnons and plasmons, topological insulators.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION of other possible COURSES
ADVANCED QUANTUM OPTICS
Introduction: classical atom-field interactions. Quantum state: Pictures, Wigner distribution, P and Q functions. Semiclassical theory: Rate equations, Two-level system, Three-level systems. Quantum theory of light-matter interactions: Quantization of the EM field, cavity QED and Jaynes-Cummings model, spontaneous emission.
MATHEMATICAL TOOLS
Probability and statistics: data description, probability distributions, errors, estimators, minimum chi-square, likelihood methods. Approximate methods for integrals and differential equations: perturbation theory, multi-scale methods, saddle point method.
SEMICONDUCTOR PHYSICS, TRANSPORT AND SPINTRONICS
Semiconductor nanostructures: quantum wells, quantum wires, and quantum dots. Quantum Hall effect in two-dimensional electron systems. Graphene as an ideally two-dimensional material. Quantum transport in one-dimensional systems. Quantum dots as spin-based qubits. Spin-orbit coupling and spin manipulation by electric field.
CALENDAR