87952 - Quantum Many Body Theory

Academic Year 2024/2025

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Physics (cod. 9245)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will acquire some knowledge about the physics of strongly interacting many body systems. More specifically he/she will be able to use both exact and approximation methods for the study of phase transitions and critical phenomena. These techniques will be seen in action by analysing some paradigmatic models, both in the classical and in the quantum setting.

Course contents

  • Theory of dilute Bose gases
  • BCS theory of superconductivity
  • Lattice models for strongly correlated systems: Hubbard model, itinerant ferromagnetism, and Heisenberg model
  • Green’s functions for many-body systems: generalities and observables
  • Spectral weight-function, quasi-particles, and Fermi liquids
  • Perturbative expansion & Feynman diagrams, self-energy

Readings/Bibliography

A. L. Fetter, J. D. Walecka, Quantum theory of many-particle systems

P. Coleman, Introduction to many body physics

R. A. Jishi, Feynman Diagram Techniques in Condensed Matter Physics

Teaching methods

Lectures on blackboard

Assessment methods

Oral exam: students will be asked to answer three/four questions on different topics covered by the course.

Students should demonstrate to be familiar and have a good understanding of the different subjects.

The “cum laude” honor is granted to students who demonstrate a personal and critical rethinking of the subject.

According to the general rules of the University, students will be allowed to reject the grade only once, but they can withdraw at any time during the exam

Office hours

See the website of Pierbiagio Pieri