Mathematical Methods for Physics and …

1 Physics PHZ-5115, fall semester 2014 Methods OF THEORETICAL Physics ( math Methods )PART IThis course has three goals: first, to provide some of the Mathematical tools used in other first-year graduate courses; second, to make sure students have the level of Mathematical knowledgeand sophistication authors of textbooks and scientific papers, whether theoretical or experimental,assume of a typical reader; and third, for those who might be interested in Mathematical Physics ,to outline some of this field while providing the base for future David A. RabsonInterdisciplinary Sciences ( New Physics Building ) 5107 Telephone: 974-1207 Telephone facsimile: TIMES:Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:30 13:45, New Physics Building (ISA),Room 3056.

2 OfficialOFFICE HOURS will be announced; I am also usually available dur-ing the day and by e-mail on evenings and :The main textbook, from which some of the homework will be assigned, is Riley,Hobson, and Bence, Mathematical Methods for Physics and Engineering, third edition (Cambridge,2006). If you have another edition, or an abridged work by two of the three authors, the problemsand readings will not correspond to the assignments. A manual of worked solutions for all the odd-number exercises is optionally available. I also like Mathews and Walker, Mathematical Methodsof Physics , second edition (Addison-Wesley, 1970). Other standard authors for this course includeBoas and Arfken. If you find part of a solution to your homework in abook, be sure to cite thesource (see below).

3 Prerequisites Most students will have had undergraduate courses in electricity and magnetism,quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, and statistical mechanics (thermodynam-ics); however, if you have a different background, please talk with me. There areno official prerequisites. Materials from the undergraduate math- Methods course(PHZ 3113, spring 2014) are available for review on the course Web structure and will be a mid-term test on 1 October and a final examination. The university hasset the time for the final as Wednesday, 10 December, from 10:00 to 12 , policy on will be assigned weekly or biweekly. When turningin any assignment, including homework, a student implicitly certifies that the work, the ideas, andthe wording are his or her own except as other works have been cited clearly.

4 Briefly, not citing awork from which one has borrowed ideas is a form of dishonesty; copying phrases verbatim withoutsetting them off typographically and citing the source is plagiarism. Since good communicationis essential to science and to your professional development, grammar, organization, and stylecount. Students are encouraged to discuss homework, but cooperation must not include copyingor plagiarism. You may look things up in books and journals in the library, but looking atprevious years solutions, solutions on the Web, or a manual of answersis cheatingandwill1result in expulsion from the universityunder a policy of the USF Graduate Council. Youneed to cite any outside sources ( , other than the required textbook) you consulted on thehomework: as examples, before a derivation (which you may follow but not copy verbatim) youmight write this derivation fills in the missing details in section of Jackson, third edition, or before a difficult integral, Mary showed me this integral in Gradsteyn and Ryzhik, ( ).

5 Class expect students to participate in and out of the classroom. Partof yourparticipation grade will come from postings to the course list-server. Each student will be expectedto make at least four substantive postings in each of the three periods August-September, October,and November-December. See the first homework sheet for subscription information. Asking andanswering questions in class also counts. Since most of you are, or will be at some time, teachingassistants, you should pay attention to recent pedagogical principles, which suggest that classeswith active participation of the students are far more valuable thanpassive for disabled the office of Disability Services: Studentsin need of academic accommodations for a disability may consult with the office of Students withDisabilities Services to arrange appropriate accommodations.

6 Students are required to give reason-able notice prior to requesting an accommodation. Reasonable notice includes to the also send me an e-mail if you know in advance that you will need to miss a class ( , fora religious observance).OUTLINE: This tentative course outline is subject to change. While I ll try to cover mathtopics you need in E&M and Quantum before those courses get to them, literally this wouldrequire cramming the entire 15-week syllabus into the first three weeks. The way we ll get aroundthe impossibility of doing so is foryouto send e-mails to the class list-server requesting in-classdiscussions of math Methods you d like to see as you d like to see ll aim to accommodatesuch oftopicsreading8/25linear algebra: vectors and matricesRHB 7 8, 26 (part); MW 69/3 (no class 9/1) linear algebra; quantum operatorsRHB 19, 10 119/8quantum ops.

7 ; vector calculusRHB 19, 10 119/15 Fourier seriesRHB 12, MW 49/22 Fourier and integral transformsRHB 13, MW 49/29 Fourier and integral transforms;midterm 10/1 RHB 13, MW 410/6ordinary differential equationsRHB 14 17, MW 1, 710/13ord. diff. eqns.; special functionsRHB 18, MW 710/20special functionsRHB 18, MW 710/27partial differential equationsRHB 20 21, MW 8 911/3partial differential equationsRHB 20 21, MW 8 911/10partial differential equationsRHB 20 21, MW 8 911/17complex variables & contour integrationRHB 24 25, MW 3, A11/24complex variables & contour integrationRHB 24 25, MW 3, A12/1complex variables & contour integrationRHB 24 25, MW 3, AFinal examination: Wednesday, 10 December 10:00 12:00, usual room2