NIT ROURKELA

M.Sc. Physics:

Semester-1:

Mathematical Methods

Essential complex analysis: Cauchy-Riemann conditions and complex analytic functions,

derivative of analytic function, Cauchy’s theorem, singularities and zeros, multivalued functions,
branch point and cut, Cauchy’s integral formula, Taylor and Laurent series, residue theorem,
definite integrals using contour integration, Dirichlet integral and Cauchy principal value, singular
integral using ‘i?’ prescription, integrals of multivalued functions. Tensor Analysis: vectors,
indices, Einstein summation convention, transformation properties of vectors, covariant and
contravariant vectors, vectors to tensors, some examples of tensors in physical problems, covariant
and contravariant tensors, rank of tensors, algebraic properties of tensors: addition, subtraction and
contraction of tensors, inner product, direct/outer product, cartesian tensors, symmetric and
antisymmetric tensors, generalized Kronecker delta and Levi-Civita symbols, fully antisymmetric
tensor, inverse transformations, quotient rule, pseudo tensors, dual tensors. Metric tensors covariant
and contravariant basis, covariant derivatives, Christoffel symbols, tensor derivative operator,
Jacobian, geodesics. Group theory and application to physical problems: definition of a group,
Discrete groups: subgroups and cosets, homomorphism and isomorphism, representations of
groups, equivalent representations, unitary representations, reducible and irreducible representation,
Schur’s Lemma and the orthogonality theorem, classes and character. Generators of continuous
group, SO(2) and SO(3) rotation groups, orbital angular momentum and rotation, SU(2) and SO(3)
homomorphism, homogeneous Lorentz group, Lorentz covariance of Maxwell’s equation.

Electromagnetic Theory

Boundary value problems using Green's Functions, Electromagnetic waves in vacuum, Maxwell's stress
tensor, momentum conservation, Poynting theorem, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulation of
electrodynamics, Gauge transformations, Coulomb gauge and Lorentz gauge, Electromagnetic waves in
matter, reflection, transmission, Causality and Kramers-Kronig relations, negative-index materials, Cavities
and Wave Guides.
Radiation: Retarded Green's functions, Lienard-Wiechert potentials dipole radiation, spectral resolution and
angular distribution of radiation from a relativistic point charge collision problems bremsstrahlung &
synchrotron radiation, radiation damping.

Classical Mechanics

The Kinematics of rigid body motion : co-ordinates of rigid body, orthogonal transformation, properties of
transformation matrix, Euler angles, Cayley-Klein parameters, Euler's theorem in motion of rigid body,
infinitesimal rotations, Rate of change of vectors, Coriolis effects.

Rigid body equation of motion : Angular momentum & Kinetic energy of motion about a point, inertial tensor
and moment of inertia, principal axis transformation and eigenvalue values of inertia tensor, Euler equation
of motion, torque free motion of rigid body, heavy symmetrical top with one point fixed, Gyroscope.

Small Oscillations : formulation, eigenvalue equation and principal axis transformation, free vibration and
normal co-ordinates, forced vibration and effect of dissipation, sub-harmonic and super harmonics.
Special theory relativity: Basic postulates of special theory of relativity, Lorenz transformation, velocity
addition, Relativistic kinematics of collisions and many particle systems, Lagrangian, Hamiltonian
formulations in relativistic mechanics, illustrations (1D harmonic oscillator, hyperbolic motion of particle,
motion of a charged particle), Covariant formulation Lagrangian.

Canonical Transformation: The equation of canonical transformation, Poisson brackets and other canonical
invariant, infinitesimal canonical transformation, conservation theorem in Poisson bracket formulations,
angular momentum Poisson bracket relations.

Hamilton-Jacobi theory: Hamilton-Jacobi equation for Hamilton-principle & Hamilton's characteristic

functions, separation of variables in H. J. equations, cyclic coordinates, action angle variables for one
degree freedom, action angle variables for completely separable systems.

Quantum Mechanics-1

Linear Vector Space and matrix formulation of Quantum Mechanics: Dirac ket representation and
mathematical definition of a vector space, scalar product, definition of dual vectors, Cauchy-Schwartz
inequality, linear operators and their algebra, Hermitian operator, unitary operator, projection operator.
Linear independence of vectors, dimension of a space, basis and span, completeness of basis, degenerate
case, Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization method. Measurement process in quantum mechanics and its
relation with expectation value, compatible and incompatible observables, complete set of commutating
observables. Matrix representation of a ket, outer product and matrix representation of an operator, basis
transformation, similarity transformation, eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix. Infinite-dimensional
vector spaces the space of square-integrable (L2) functions and its definition, weight functions, continuous
basis, Hilbert space, position eigenket, position space wave function, translation operator, momentum-
space wave function, self-adjoint extension of momentum operator for finite interval. Quantum Dynamics:
Schrödinger picture, time evolution operator and time dependence of expectation value, spin precession.
Heisenberg picture, Heisenberg equation of motion. Time evolution of base kets and transition amplitude,
density operator and density matrix, pure and mixed ensemble, ensemble averages and density operator,
time evolution of ensembles. Theory of angular momentum: Introducing angular momentum as generator of
rotation. Eigenvalues, eigenstates and matrix elements of orbital angular momentum operator. Euler
rotation and representations of rotation operator. Stern-Gerlach experiment and introduction to the idea of
spin, representation of spin operator in bra-ket notation, matrix representation and Pauli matrices, quantum
dynamics and spin precession. Rotation operator for spin-1/2 and its matrix representation. Addition of
angular momentum, Clebsch-Gordan (CG) coefficients. CG coefficients and rotation matrices. Tensor
operators, Wigner-Eckart theorem, projection theorem. Discrete Symmetries in Quantum Mechanics: Parity
symmetry and operator, wave functions under parity, parity selection rule. Discrete time reversal symmetry,
time reversal operator, wave functions under time reversal, time reversal for a spin-1/2 system and Kramer’s
degeneracy.

Advanced Language Laboratory

Modern Physics Laboratory

1. ESR SPECTROMETER
2. HALL EFFECT COEFFICIENT SETUP
 3. IONIZATION POTENTIAL OF MERCURY FILLED VAPOR LAMP
4. PLANK CONSTANT KIT
5. FRANK HERTZ EXPERIMENT (2 SET)
6. ULTRASONIC INTERFEROMETER
7. FEBRY-PEROT INTERFEROMETER
8. CONTACT ANGLE APPARATUS
9. CORNUS APPARATUS (HYPERBOLIC)
10. LASER DIVERGENCE
11. KERR EFFECT APPARATUS.

Semester-2:

Statistical Mechanics

Quick Ensemble theory: recapitulation of microcanonical, canonical, grand canonical ensemble and
connection to thermodynamics, central limit theorem and equivalence of microcanonical and canonical
ensemble, equipartition theorem, virial theorem. Entropy of ideal gas, Gibbs’s paradox,
distinguishability, indistinguishability and correct enumeration of microstates, relation between
Boltzmann and Shannon entropy, principle of maximum entropy. Localized quantum systems in
microcanonical and canonical ensemble: thermodynamics of localized spin-1/2 system, solid of
Einstein, system of particles with two levels of energy, negative temperature. Formulation of Quantum
Statistics: density matrix and quantum mechanical ensemble theory, density matrix for pure and mixed
ensembles, Von Neumann equation, thermodynamic average for a quantum system, density matrix for
microcanonical, canonical and grand canonical ensemble, simple examples: an electron in a magnetic
field, free particle in a box, quantum harmonic oscillator. Brief discussion on the relation of density
matrix and entropy, entropy as measure of ignorance, entropy and information theory. Bose and Fermi-
Dirac statistics: many particles quantum system and indistinguishability. Bosons, fermions and
symmetry of many particle wavefunction. Ideal quantum gases in microcanonical ensemble, Bose and
Fermi distribution, comparison with Maxwell-Boltzmann or the classical gas. Ideal quantum gases in
grand-canonical ensemble and mean occupational statistics of bosons and fermions, classical limit of
Bose and Fermi-Dirac statistics. Ideal Bose gas: thermodynamic properties and Bose-Einstein (BE)
condensation, BE condensation in ultracold atomic gases, detecting BE condensate, thermodynamic
properties of BE condensate. Ideal Fermi Gas: thermodynamic properties of completely degenerate and
non-degenerate systems, Fermi temperature, Pauli paramagnetic, quick discussion on Landau
diamagnetism, white dwarf star and Chandrasekhar limit. Interacting systems: qualitative discussion
about statistical mechanics of interacting systems, exact solution of Ising model in 1D, qualitative
discussion of 2D Ising model. Phase transition and critical phenomena: random walks and emergent
properties. Broken symmetry, order parameter and phases of matter. Continuous phase transition, scale
invariance, universality and critical exponents. Mean field approximation and 2D Ising model and critical
exponents. Landau’s phenomenological theory of phase transition.

Quantum Mechanics-2

Approximate Method: Time independent perturbation theory :1st and 2nd order correction for non-
degenerate case, application to one dimensional quantum harmonic oscillator, quadratic Stark effect.
General principle of 1st order perturbation theory for degenerate case, application to the simple case of
doubly degenerate problem, fine structure of Hydrogen atom spectrum (relativistic correction and spin-
orbit interaction), Zeeman effect (weak field and strong field), brief discussion on the intermediate field
Zeeman effect, linear Stark effect. Semiclassical WKB approximation. General principle of variational
methods, identical particles, application of variational method to Helium atom, H2+ molecule ion. Time
dependent potential and interaction picture, time dependent two state problems, spin magnetic
resonance, MASER. Time dependent perturbation theory-transition probability, Fermi’s golden rule,
application to constant perturbation, harmonic perturbation, interactions with classical radiation field,
energy shift and decay width. Atom in a radiation field, electric dipole approximation, selection rules,
photo-electric effect. Scattering Theory: collision cross section, scattering amplitude, the Born
approximation, optical theorem, method of partial wave expansion and its application to scattering from
hard sphere, scattering at low energies, s-wave scattering from a square well, resonant scattering and
Breit-Wigner formula, optical theorem.

Condensed Matter Physics

Electrons in a periodic potential and band theory: Bloch’s theorem, Born-von Karman boundary
condition, density of levels, van-Hove singularities, König-Penney model. Electrons in a weak periodic
potential, energy levels, energy bands and energy gap. Tight binding method, Wannier functions.
Concept of Fermi surface. Effective mass of electrons, concept of holes. De Haas-van Alphen effect.
Dielectric properties of solids: Dielectric function of electron gas and plasma oscillations, Dielectric
function in the general framework of screening, Thomas-Fermi theory of screening, Lindhard theory of
screening. Dielectric properties of insulators: macroscopic electrostatic Maxwell equations, theory of
local field, Clausius-Mossotti relation, theory of polarizability, application to ionic crystal and it’s optical
properties.
Semiconductors: General properties of homogeneous semiconductors and it’s band structure. Carrier
concentration in thermal equilibrium, intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors, impurity levels and it’s
population in thermal equilibrium.
Magnetism in solids: Magnetic moment of an atom orbital, spin and total magnetic moment, Hund’s
rule. Larmor Diamagnetism, Van-Vleck Paramagnetism, Curie’s law for free ions and solids.
Paramagnetism and diamagnetism of metals.
Superconductivity: Type-I and Type-II. Thermal, electrical and magnetic properties. Energy gap. Isotope
effect, London theory, coherence length. Overview of BCS theory and BCS ground state. Flux
quantization. Josephson effect.

Atomic & Molecular physics

Review of atomic structure of H, atomic structure of two electron system, alkali system, Electron
configurations and terms, equivalent and nonequivalent electrons, Hund's rules, Symmetric and
antisymmetric wave functions, Slater determinants, constant field approximation, Hartree-Fock method,
vector atom model, LS and jj couplings, Normal and Anomalous Zeeman effect, Stark effect. Born-
Oppenheimer approximation, Spectra of diatomic molecule, polyatomic molecule. molecular spectra:
rotational spectra, vibrational spectra, Electronic spectra, Raman effect, ESR spectroscopy, NMR
Spectroscopy, LASER, modern experimental tools of spectroscopy.
Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory

1.To study coercivity, retentivity and saturation magnetization of a given ferromagnetic material using
BH hysteresis loop tracer.
2. Measurement of magneto-resistance of semiconductor.
3. To find the magnetic susceptibility of solution by Quinck’s U-tube apparatus.
4. To determine activation energy of thermistor.
5. To determine the Susceptibility of Solids by Gouy’s Method
6. To study the dispersion relation for the mono-atomic and di-atomic lattice.
7. To determine dielectric constant of a given specimen at high frequency by Lecher wires.
8. To find dielectric constant of given liquid and its temperature dependence.
9. To find the young modulus of the specimen using piezoelectric oscillator of composite system.

Computer Programming Laboratory

1. Introduction to basic structure of a Fortran code: variable types, arithmetic operations, READ,
PRINT statements, DO....ENDDO statement, writing a very basic code, compile it, run and print
the output at the terminal. FORMAT, OPEN, WRITE, CLOSE statements.
2. Introduction to 1D and higher dimensional array, ALLOCATABLE array, various kind of array
manipulation. Writing a Fortran code using ALLOCATABLE array.
3. Writing a Fortran code using IF…. THEN…. ENDIF, IF…. THEN…. ELSEIF…. ENDIF,
WHERE....ELSEWHERE, FORALL statements.
4. Introduction to user defined FUNCTION. Using user defined FUNCTION in a code.
5. Introduction to relational and logical operators. CASE statement. COMPLEX data type in
Fortran.
6. Introduction to SUBROUTINE. Using SUBROUTINE in a code.
7. Introduction to MODULE. Using MODULE in a code.
8. Matrix multiplication, finding inverse of a matrix.
9. Solving quadratic equation.
10. Solving simultaneous linear equations.
11. Least square fitting.

Thin Film & Low Temperature Physics Laboratory

1. To Study Thin Film Deposition Techniques by PVD.

2. To Study Thin Film Deposition Techniques by RF Sputtering.
3. To Study Thin Film Deposition Techniques by Spin Coating.
4. To Study Thin Film Deposition Techniques by Dip Coating.
5. To Study the Vacuum Variation with Time by Rotary Pump.
6. To Find R Vs T Curve of Superconducting Sample.
7. To Study the Temperature Dependent Capacitance, Loss and Magneto-Capacitance
of a-Multiferroic Sample
8. To Study the Frequency Dependent Capacitance, Loss and Impedance of a
Multiferroic Sample.
9. To Find Temperature Dependent Resistivity of a Sample: +Ve Temperature Coefficient
of Resistance & -Ve Temperature Coefficient of Resistance.
10. To Find Temperature Dependent Capacitance of a Sample at Low Temperature.
Reference: Laboratory.

Semester-3:

Nuclear and particle Physics

Nuclear radii and charge distributions, nuclear two-body problem, binding energy and stability of nuclei.
Electric and magnetic moments. Nuclear force and its nature, Yukawa theory. Deuteron problem, Liquid
drop model: semi empirical mass formula, Fermi-gas model, stable isobar. Single particle shell model,
its validity and limitations. Collective model: rotational and vibrational spectra. Nuclear decay: alpha,
beta and gamma. Fermi theory. Radioactive series. Nuclear kinematics & classification of nuclear
reactions, fusion & fission reactions, compound nucleus. Brief overview of ion-beam applications for
materials.
Standard model, fundamental forces, particle classifications, Spin and parity, Isospin, strangeness,
hypercharge, baryon number, lepton number, Gellmann-Nishijima formula, Conservation laws, Quarks in
hadrons. Meson and baryon octet, Parity violation, C, P and T invariance.

Analog & Digital Electronics

Semiconductor devices Bipolar Junction Transistors, Field Effect Transistors : JFET, MOSFET, Basic
differential amplifier circuit, negative feedback circuits, amplifier and oscillator circuits operational
amplifier, operational amplifier characteristics and
applications, active filters and rectifier circuits, regulated power supplies Basic digital logic circuits,
combinational logic circuit, half and full adder, sequential logic circuits, Multivibrators, flip-flops,
counters, registers, multiplexures and demultiplexure, encoders and decoders, A/D and D/A conversion.

Computational Physics Laboratory

1.Interpolation (Lagrange method).

2. Numerical integration (Simpson & Trapezoidal method).
3. Differentiation (Runge-Kutta method).
4. Numerical solution to partial differential equations.
5. Solving Schrödinger equation for quantum harmonic oscillator.
6. Simulating chemical equilibrium of a gas using random numbers.
7. Introduction to classical Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation. MC simulation of 2D Ising model.
8. Phase-space analysis of non-linear physical systems.

Research Project-1

Scientific and Technical Writing

Professional Elective-1

Professional Elective-2
Semester-4:

Computational Astrophysics Laboratory

1.Familiarity with Telescope.

2. Information about the astronomical objects from the spectra and image.
3. Identification of important lines in the spectra and determination of Doppler shift and radial velocity
of an object.
4. Determination of ultraviolet extinction curve of a star using pair method.
5. Familiarity with Constellations using Stellerium.
6. Determination of retrograde motion of planets.
7. To measure the distance to the moon using parallax method.
8. To measure the distances of planets in our solar System.
9. To measure the proper motion of Barnard's star.
10. Study of solar spectrum and determination of element abundances.
11. Determination of distance and age of star cluster using color-magnitude diagram.
12. Determination of Hubble’s constant and the age of the Universe using spectra and image of a
sample of galaxies.
Prerequisite(s): PH 6117 (Introduction to Astrophysics)

Research Project-2

Comprehensive viva-voice

Professional Elective-3

Professional Elective-4

Summer Internship and Research Experience