FK7060 - Kondenserade materiens fysik
Condensed Matter Physics

Note!

The course FK7060 replaces the old course FK7042 with the same name. Some information below has not yet been updated for the new course.

General course information

Credits: 7.5 hp
Course info: Studentexpeditionens kursfakta
Bologna course description:  FK7060
Course description: InfoFK7060.pdf
Grade requirements (in Swedish): FK7060_betyg.pdf
Course start: January 16, 2018.

Lecture notes and schedule

Lecture notes will appear here before each lecture. Take-home problems will be published well in advance on the same webpage. The course book chapters and subjects of each lecture will be available at course start.

What is Condensed Matter Physics?

Condensed matter physics is the largest topic of research in physics today. It encloses the statistical mechanics and quantum physics of solids (solid state physics), but also describes liquids (magnetic vortex liquids is my speciality) and novel states of materials.

About the lecturer

My name is Andreas Rydh. I took an assistant professor position at Stockholm University in 2005 and am now a senior lecturer/associate professor. I did my PhD at KTH on superconductivity and spent 3+ years at Argonne National Laboratory, a research lab outside Chicago. My background is in experimental research on superconductivity, calorimetry and mesoscopic systems. Please email me or come by my office at AlbaNova, room A2:1057, at any time and with any questions you may have.

Course literature

Selected parts of the book Solid state physics by Ashcroft and Mermin will be used as course literature. This book is quite old for being a text book but is still THE text book in condensed matter/solid state physics. Its main competitor, Introduction to solid state physics, by Kittel, may be easier to read but does not provide the depth expected for university studies on this level. Having studied "Ashcroft and Mermin" describes the level of knowledge of a student better than anything else. Above all, the book guides the reader into a great way of thinking and understanding physics.

You can buy the book online. Search for ISBN 0030839939. Here are some suggestions:

Unfortunately, it seems that the original book is getting increasingly difficult to buy. However, there is also a rather cheap paperback version with the same content but not as good paper quality. If you need, there are a few books that can be checked out from the library. The book will also be complemented with ample lecture notes, but this will in no way replace the importance of having a main text book to read.