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MAU34410 Interacting quantum system

Module Code MAU34410
Module Title Interacting quantum system (Quantum Many Body Physics)
Semester taught Semester 2
ECTS Credits 5
Module Lecturer Prof. Chaolun Wu
Module Prerequisites MAU34404 Quantum Mechanics II
and MAU34406 Statistical physics II are required.

Assessment Details

  • This module is examined in a 2-hour examination at the end of Semester 2 which will contribute 70% of the final mark..
  • Continuous assessment contributes 30% towards the overall mark.
  • The module is passed if the overall mark for the module is 40% or more. If the overall mark for the module is less than 40% and there is no possibility of compensation, the module will be reassessed as follows: 
    1) A failed exam in combination with passed continuous assessment will be reassessed by an exam in the supplemental session; 
    2) The combination of a failed exam and failed continuous assessment is reassessed by the supplemental exam; 
    3) A failed continuous assessment in combination with a passed exam will be reassessed by one or more summer assignments in advance of the supplemental session.

    Capping of reassessments applies to Theoretical Physics (TR035) students enrolled in this module. See full text at https://www.tcd.ie/teaching-learning/academic-affairs/ug-prog-award-regs/derogations/by-school.php  Select the year and scroll to the School of Physics.

Contact Hours

11 weeks of teaching with 3 lectures and 1 tutorial per week.

Module Content

  • General formalisms and methods for interacting quantum systems
  • Interacting electrons: Fermi liquid theory
  • Superconductivity: phenomenology, Ginzburg-Landau theory, BCS theory, high temperature superconductivity
  • Quantum Hall effects and topological phases of matter
  • Confinement and nuclear physics

Recommended Reading

  • Quantum Field Theory of Many Body Systems by X-G. Wen, Oxford University Press (2004)
  • Condensed Matter Field Theory by A. Altland and B. Simons, Cambridge University Press (2006)
  • Lectures on the Quantum Hall Effect by David Tong, online lecture notes (2016).