PHYS 231
Methods of Theoretical Physics
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Prof. Flip Tanedo (flip.tanedo@ucr.edu)
TA: none
This is a crash course on the mathematical methods to succeed in the first year graduate curriculum. Our goal is to solve differential equations using Green's functions. We will use techniques from linear algebra and complex analysis. If time permits, we may explore other topics toward the end of the course such as statistical methods for physics and astronomy.
Lectures: MWF 10:00 - 10:50am, Physics 2111
Discussion: M 3-3:50pm, Physics 2104 (only on Week 2, 4, 8)
Office hours: please schedule in advance with Flip.
Weekly Routine
Weekly Routine
See the Weekly Page for a complete summary of topics and assignments.
Odd Numbered Weeks
Odd Numbered Weeks
Wednesday: Short Homework Due
Friday: Explainer Video Due (starting Week 3)
Even Numbered Weeks
Even Numbered Weeks
Wednesday: Peer Review Due (starting Week 4)
Friday: Explainer Video Due (starting Week 3)
Class Adjustments
Class Adjustments
We will not have lecture on:
Week 3, Wednesday, Friday
Week 5: Friday
Week 6: Monday
Week 7: Monday (federal holiday)
Week 9: Friday (university holiday)
Week 10: Wednesday, Friday
In its place, we will have make up lectures in our 3pm discussion slot on the following days:
Week 2: Monday
Week 4: Monday
Week 8: Monday
Quick Links
Quick Links
Syllabus: please review (I reserve the right to update policies as needed)
Course Notes are updated as we go. Updated links on the weekly page. Here's the draft of the course notes as of September 24, 2024. I welcome your feedback and corrections.
Old versions: 2021 version of the notes, notes from 2018 and 2017, 2016 version of the course (rather different than the present incarnation0
Our internal sheet: includes welcome videos, contact info, and homework problem assignments. (Only accessible to course members)
Textbook and Course Materials
Textbook and Course Materials
There is no required textbook, but you are strongly encouraged to have access to at least one general "math methods for physicists" reference.
The closest "textbook" to our course is Mike Godfrey's P30672 course in Manchester; there's a nice set of notes here. I'm not following them, but they do seem close to my philosophy for this class.
I particularly like Mathematics for Physics & Physicists by Appel, but we will not necessarily follow it closely.
Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics, Byron and Fuller. Inexpensive gem as a Dover edition.
Mathematical Physics: a Modern Introduction to its Foundations, Sadri Hassani; digital version free from UCR Library.
Mathematical Methods of Physics, Mathews and Walker
Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, Mary Boas; primarily undergraduate level, but is an excellent background reference for most of the topics in this class.
Road to Reality, Penrose. Not a textbook, per se, but a wonderful tome to that complements the course well. The first 400 pages or so rapidly touch on many mathematical ideas that form a deep connection to theoretical physics. It may ostensibly be written for a lay audience, but I think it is ideally geared to a PhD candidate in physics: someone who has met and used some of the ideas before, and who is thus equipped to appreciate the hints to deeper connections.
Feel free to look for some that you can access electronically from the UCR Library.
You may need to use your @ucr email address to access certain course materials, a regular @gmail address will not work. Here are instructions for using the UCR VPN if you want to avoid using the UCR login each time you access these materials.
Technology Requirements
Technology Requirements
For this course, you will need to be able to record 5-10 minute videos of yourself explaining the solutions to homework problems. There are many ways to do this, check out the UCR Keep Learning website for suggestions. Your videos do not need to be polished: you need to be effective, not flashy.
I encourage you to have a recording that shows your face while talking if possible. This will help us build familiarity with one another. At the very minimum, your videos should have the sound of your own voice.
In the second half of the course you will prepare a short written document explaining how to solve for the Green's function of a harmonic oscillator. You are strongly encouraged to use LaTeX.
Guidelines for submission
Guidelines for submission
Video Uploads
Video Uploads
See the keeplearning.ucr page for advice on recording and uploading your videos. You will upload your video to your own storage space (e.g. the unlimited storage volume through your @ucr access to Google Drive) and then submit it by sending the link through a submission form.
Please keep your videos accessible until the end of the term (2nd week of December).
Video Permissions
Video Permissions
Please make sure that your uploaded video is viewable by other members of the class.
On Google Drive (web interface): right-click on the file and click on "Share." There are a few options:
Restricted: only people listed can access the video. Please add flip.tanedo@ucr.edu, and the email addresses of your classmates (see the internal page).
Rmail: automatically restricts to anyone with an @ucr email address.
Anyone with the link: least restrictive, public access. I don't recommend this, but you can do this if you'd like to share your videos with family and friends outside of UCR.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find the homework/lectures?
Where do I find the homework/lectures?
See the Weekly Updates page summarizes material covered, assignments, and submission links. You can also connect to the Google Calendar for this course which contains all of our meeting times and assignment due dates.
Turning in Assignments
Turning in Assignments
All assignments are to be submitted using Google Forms. Please use your UCR account to upload materials on a storage space that our class can access.
How do I communicate?
How do I communicate?
The primary way of asking questions, commenting, and engaging with the course is in person during our meetings. We expect the assignments to be a bit challenging and encourage questions at the beginning of class to discussing the assignments or the course materials.
You can also contact Flip and Ian by e-mail, please use: [P231] in the subject line so that the message is not filtered out. Please expect a minimum 3 business day turnaround time for urgent messages and possibly a longer turnaround time for non-urgent messages. (You may want to follow up with Flip in person before/after class.)
Privacy and Data Security
Privacy and Data Security
We abide by the UCR Keep Teaching Privacy and Security guidelines. Because lectures will be asynchronous and are recorded without an audience, there is no risk to student privacy when these lectures are made available. All student-generated recordings (explainer videos) will be hosted on the student's own web space with links only shared internally with members of the class. Students have full control of removing these files after the course.
Students are not allowed to download other students' videos without their permission. The instructor grants students the right to download any of the instructor's videos for their own instructional use. In order to maintain a strict separation of private information (including course participation), we have a separate internal course webpage where students may access one another's work for peer review.
Previous versions of this course
Previous versions of this course
Each year this course is slightly different based on the feedback of the previous years' students and the discretion of the instructor. The number of blatant errors should be decreasing (mostly monotonically) with time. The number of subtle errors is also decreasing adiabatically.
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