Con

epts in Theoreti al Physi s

.

Con epts in Theoreti al Physi s

Aim of ourse: to develop methods of

many-body & (low-energy) quantum eld theory
motivated by appli ations!

Synopsis

Relation to QFT & other Part III ourses?

Prerequistes? (TPs et .)

Le ture notes, problem sets & books

ourse web-page:

How an we develop a
Quantum Theory of \Dense" Matter?
the \quantum many-body problem"...
.

First prin iples?

a ording to some,
we already have a Theory of Everything...
...but learly the ability to redu e everything to
simple fundamental laws does not imply the ability
to start form those laws and re onstru t the
universe!

http://www.t m.phy. am.a .uk/~ bds10/

Supervisions

Ben Simons
Room 518 (Mott)
e-mail: bds10 am.a .uk

Perturbation theory about non-intera ting

(i.e. free-parti le) referen e state?
ee tive, but limited in s ope...
onsider ee t of intera tions...

How do parti le intera tions in uen e properties

of quantum many-parti le system?

How do parti le intera tions in uen e properties

of quantum many-parti le system?

Strong intera tion symmetry breaking

(i.e. transitions to new phases of matter)

na

labels of wavefun tions (quantum nos.)1

more robust than wavefun tions themselves

ea h phase hara terised by

new \ olle tive ex itations"2

; \quasi-parti le orresponden e"...

e.g. ...
2

...whi h depend only on fundamental symmetries

i.e. parti le-like ex itations

(translation, rotation, et .) and dimensionality

involving the olle tive motion of many elementary parti les

Ea h phase of matter hara terised

and lassied by fundamental sy

ks

e.g. translation, rotation, spin, gauge,...

(n+1)a

II. Magnet: broken spin rotational symmetry

spin waves (magnons)

Within ea h phase, u tuations hara t

(parti le-like) ex itations, quasi-parti le
properties mirror those of the free theory
e.g. ele tron/hole quasi-parti les,...

e.g. rystal, magnet, super uid...

Heirar hi al view of matter

I. Crystal: broken translational symmetry

latti e vibrations (phonons)

(n-1)a

Broken symmetry & olle tive modes

xn-1

Weak intera tion

...relies on prin iple of \adiabati ontinuity":

Non-intera ting system ideal gas laws

e.g. free ele tron theory, Debye theory, et .

Robert Laughlin (Nobe

III. Super uid | broken gauge symmetry

phase mode

IV. Quark plasma | strong intera tion

broken gauge symmetry

; hadrons

et ., et .
...properties of olle tive ex itations usually
very dierent from elementary bare parti les
6

Transitions between phases signalled by

breaking new olle tive quasi-parti le e
(usually very dierent from the elemen
parti les)

e.g. fra tional quantum Hall liquid,...

This heirar hy lends itself to the ommon

language of quantum eld
1

...familiar from high energy physi s

Quantum Theory of Matter

Free field theory

I. Mi ros opi Theory

Condensed matter physics

involving "elementary"
bare particles

weak int

(a) Many-parti le Hamiltonian...

en odes fundamental parti le intera tions

n.

High energy physics

( ) Mean-eld theory

broken symmetries

n.

; global phase stru ture

(d) Low-energy u tuations

quantum eld theory of olle tive ex itations

II. Phenomenology

Phase transition
Broken symmetry:
rearrangement of g.s.
appearance of new
collective excitations

Synopsis

...to develop basi theoreti al ma hinery

to address quantum many-body physi s:
.

Method of se ond quantisation:

language of many-parti le quantum me hani s

Fun tional eld integral methods

(b) ... ast as quantum eld theory

via quantum path or eld integral

Quasi-particle
correspondence
strong int

Aim of Course

[Criti al phenomena
& methods of statisti al eld theory

i =
 j
jei

possessing both amplitude & phase

. Fun tional eld theory: Grassmann Algebra; oh

path integral; quantum partition fun tion; Coope

& BCS theory; Ginzburg-Landau & statisti al 
Gauge theory, Higgs me hanism & super ondu tiv

10

. Phase transition signalled by development of order parameter:

" #

appli ations to phonons, Mott-Hubbard transition

magnetism; spin wave theory; yantiferromagnetism
intera ting Bose gas

Klein-Gordon & Dira equation; free parti le; Kle

antiparti les; spin; oupling to lassi al EM eld
intera tions & gauge theories.

. Method of se ond quantisation: reation

. Relativisti quantum me hani s: symmetries &

i.e. Universality!

Super ondu tivity: A Quantum Phase

Transition of the Ele tron Gas

analysis

integration & saddle-point analyses; semi- lassi s

me hani s; single & double well, instantons &
appli ations to soft matter & quantum fri tion.

(b) Coherent state path integral

Fundamental symmetries:
onstrain low-energy ee tive eld theory

harmoni hain & free s alar eld theory; lassi

modes, phonons; quantising the lassi al eld;

. Fun tional methods: Feynman path integral;

(a) Feynman path integral

. Colle tive ex itations | from parti les to e

Consequen es

Topologi al Ex itations

. Super ondu tivity:

. Topologi al defe ts: vorti es ( f. dislo ations)

F []
e

||

. Ex hange of latti e vibrations (phonons) between ele trons

; (non-lo al) pairing intera tion

Tc

ee
ee
ee

Im []

Re []

H. K. Onnes, Commun. Phys. Lab.

12, 120 (1911)

. Meissner Ee t:

Vortex latti e

. Topologi al Phase Transition in Thin-lms

ee

. Breaking of (gauge) symmetry...

ee
ee

( f. ferromagnet, rystal, et .)

ee

. At low T , ele trons \ ondense" in pairs

f. Bose-Einstein ondensation

...a ompanied by low-energy olle tive phase u tuations

( f. spin waves, phonons, et .)

. Intera tion of phase eld  with EM-eld

photon mass(!) & super ondu tivity

( f. Higgs me hanism in ele troweak theory)

12

13

perfe t diamagneti response

vortex plasma

; ex lusion of magneti eld

14

( f.

From Mi ros opi s to Quantum Fields

1. Many-body Hamiltonian:
\se ond quantization"

Coulomb Intera tion

.

2. Quantum eld integral:

oherent state path integral

. Ele troni Phases of Matter:

3. Mean-eld: symmetry breaking

& BCS transition
4. Flu tuations: gauge eld theory

Books

ee
ee
ee

Landau Fermi-liquid
Wigner rystal
Mott Insulator
Quantum magnetism & spin liquids
Quantum Hall uids
Heavy fermion super ondu tor
Luttinger liquid
Ex iton insulator & ondensate

ee
ee

ee
ee

5. Topologi al phase transition

16

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Quantum Many-body theory

R. P. Feynman, Statisti al Me hani s, Benjamin, New York,

(1972).
N. Nagaosa, Quantum Field Theory in Condensed Matter
Physi s, Sringer 1999.

J. W. Negele and H. Orland, Quantum Many-Parti le
Systems, Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1988.

Fun tional Field Integral methods

A. Das, Field Theory: A Path Integral Approa h, World

S ienti Publishing, (1993).
R. P. Feynman and A. R. Hibbs, Quantum Me hani s and
Path Integrals, M Graw-Hill, New York, (1965).

L. S. S hulman, Te hniques and Appli ations of Path
Integration, John Wiley & Sons, 1981.

Relativisti Quantum Me hani s

J. D. Bjorken and S. D. Drell, Relativisti Quantum Me hani s,

M Graw-Hill (1964).

L. H. Ryder, Quantum Field Theory, Cambridge University
Press, 1996.

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