This course treats those parts of quantum mechanics that lead to the description of a particle in a potential, of atoms, and of molecules. The concepts introduced and discussed will be the Schrödinger equation, wavefunctions, eigenvalues and eigenfunctions, spin, angular momentum, and Pauli's principle. The course is a basic introductory course that develops the formalism based on the Schrödinger equation and other Eigenvalue/Eigenfunction equations using the (differential) operators that represent physical observables, and then goes on to use it for a few physical systems, starting from one dimensional potential problems and then going on to the behavior of a particle in a central potential, atoms, and the simplest molecules.

This course gives an introduction to the basic concepts and tools of solid state physics, providing an essential treatment of the most important physical phenomena and effects that are central to the physics of condensed matter. The material will be introduced and discussed with a strong stress on basic understanding, often favoring a simple model over a more complicated one, or jumping over the detailed derivation of a mathematical result in order to dedicate more time to the description of the physics of what is going on.

After this course you will have the necessary preparation to efficiently use advanced textbooks and current papers in the literature to increase your knowledge of any current or new research field that has to do with solids or periodic, regular arrangements of atoms, from nanotechnology to electronics to optics.

This is a freshmen course that introduces the basic concepts of mechanics, with some small discussion of special relativity and heat/temperature.

The material will be developed by continually iterating between classes, question & answers sessions, and homework discussions.

This is a course designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students having some previous exposure to the field of optics. After discussing the basic principles of light-matter interaction and the wavelength- and energy-regimes that lead to a great deal of different effects, selected modern experiments and applications will be presented, including experimental techniques for the investigation of fundamental processes and the demonstrations of new phenomena with potential for the development of future devices.

The basics will include resonant and non-resonant, high-intensity and low-intensity excitations, local fields, and the origin, symmetry, and sometimes confusing definitions of the nonlinear optical susceptibilities. Experiments and applications will be selected from among the following topics: Measurement of nonlinear optical properties and the pitfalls of inconsistent definitions found in the literature; Molecular hyperpolarizabilities and macroscopic nonlinearities; Second and third order effects; Wave interaction in anisotropic crystals and atomic gases; Frequency conversion; Optical Kerr effect; Optical switching; Nonlinear time-resolved spectroscopy; Four-wave mixing; Rabi oscillations; Electromagnetically induced transparency; Pulse propagation, “slow” light, “fast” light, superluminal and negative pulse velocities. Some recent publications in the field will be examined.