• Blended Learning & Flipped Classroom

The major goal of this course is to give to the students the basic notions necessary in order to understand the physical properties of condensed matter. The argument is extremely vast therefore the course focuses on a particular aspect, the periodic structures and the physical consequences of the translational symmetry starting from the Bloch theorem down to its various implications. These concepts are applied to the vibrational properties of periodic lattices and to the electron states in a periodic potential. A brief introduction to a description of solids in terms of elementary excitations is also given. Part of the course is also dedicated to the methods of statistical physics which are used for discussing the thermodinamical properties of solids. The final part of the course is devoted to superconductivity whose phenomenological aspects are presented and the phenomenon is discussed in terms of the transition phase theory of Landau.

The course focuses on the fundamental concepts of condensed matter physics and is mainly devoted to the study of periodic structures and their properties.

The topics covered are:

- Periodic structures and their description in real space

- Elements of the theory of symmetry

- Reciprocal space

- Diffraction

- Elements of statistical physics

- Classical theory of lattice vibrations: dispersion relations

- Quantum theory of lattice vibrations: the concept of phonon

- Electronic states in a periodic potential: the Bloch theorem

- Models with quasi-free electrons and strong bond

- Facilities bands of insulators, metals and semicondutturi

- Semiclassical dynamics of electrons in a solid

- Interaction between electrons

- Superconductivity

The topics, many of them of considerable complexity, will be presented seeking to highlight their physical meaning and making sure to avoid it being overshadowed by the mathematical formalism. Although this is a course on the theoretical foundations of the theory of solids, the concepts will be exemplified from time to time by reference to experimental techniques actually used in the field of condensed matter.

The course will consist of lectures and exercises during which the topics of the lectures will be discussed at a deeper level and in relation to their experimental implications.

A thorough knowledege of mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism and elementary quantum mechanics and its applications to atoms and molecules.

A solid mathematical background on mathematical analysis, vector calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations.

The final exam will be in written form and will consist in a series of questions on a series of specific topics covered during the course. Each question will not simply involve the exposition of a specific topic but will be conceived in order to be multidisciplinary and aimed to verify, aside from the knowledge acquired by the student on individual arguments, also its comprehension of the discipline as a whole and its capacity to cross correlated the various arguments covered by the course.