29::276 Special Topics in Quantum
Mechanics: Introduction to the Renormalization Group Method
Fall Semester 2009
Instructor: Prof. Yannick Meurice
Coordinates
- Office:514 VAN
- Phone:335-1991
- Email:yannick-meurice@uiowa.edu
- Web page:http://www-hep.physics.uiowa.edu/~meurice
- Lectures: 10:55AM - 12:10PM TTh Room 618 in the Van
Allen Building.
- Office Hours: Monday and Tuesday 9 :00-10:30 AM.
Feel free to
schedule appointments at other times.
Course Content
The Renormalization Group method is a major theoretical tool in particle and
condensed matter physics. Roughly speaking, It consists in replacing a
microscopic theory by a physically equivalent theory at a larger scale, putting a special
emphasis on the fixed points of this procedure. The method is very useful to understand
phase transitions and situations where an approximate conformal
symmetry is present (i. e. no scale is singled out).
The ideas of the Renormalization Group (RG) and scale invariance have
played a central role in physics over the last four decades. They are associated with the emergence of
key concepts such as universality, self-similarity, finite-size
scaling, asymptotic freedom, coupling unification and triviality bounds.
RG methods allowed the numerical treatment of difficult problems in
particle physics, many-body and few-body physics.The RG provides
a universal language spoken by scientists working in very
different areas. The class will provide an
elementary introduction to the basic RG concepts and discuss
applications in statistical mechanics, condensed matter,
particle physics and possibly other fields. The exact content will be
adjusted in order to meet the needs of the
students attending the class.
The course will have a numerical component and include readings of some recent literature.
Textbooks
Main textbook: J. Cardy, Scaling and Renormalization in
Statistical Physics, (Cambridge Lecture Notes in Physics) . Additional
illustrations will be chosen from A. Barabasi and E. Stanley, Fractal
Concepts in Surface Growth.
Additional references.
Homework
Reading assignments and/or problems set will be provided in
class.
Examinations and Final Grade
The final grade will be calculated in the
following way: 50 points for the homework
and 50 percent for a final project.
Class Attendance
Attendance at lectures is highly recommended but not required. You are
strongly encouraged to ask questions during the lectures.
There are no ``stupid questions''.
DEPARTMENT
OF
PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY MAIN OFFICE
PROCEDURES
FOR STUDENT COMPLAINTS
- A student who has
a complaint related
to a Physics or Astronomy course should follow the procedures
summarized below. The full policy on student complaints is on-line in
the College's Student Academic Handbook http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/faculty/handbook/5/f.shtml
• Ordinarily, the student should attempt to resolve the matter
with the
instructor first. If the complaint is not resolved to the student's
satisfaction, the student should go to the course supervisor (if the
instructor is a teaching assistant) or to the Associate Chair–
Professor Paul Kleiber.
- If the matter
remains unresolved, the
student may submit a written
complaint to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs, 120 Schaeffer
Hall (335-2633). The associate dean will attempt to resolve the
complaint and, if necessary, may convene a special committee to
recommend appropriate action. In any event, the associate dean will
respond to the student in writing regarding the disposition of the
complaint. For any complaint that cannot be resolved through the
mechanisms described above, please refer to the College’s
Student
Academic Handbook for further information.
A
student
suspected of
plagiarism or cheating must inform the student in writing as soon as
possible after the incident has been observed or discovered. Instructors who detect
cheating or plagiarism
may decide, in consultation with the departmental executive officer, to
reduce the student's grade on the assignment or the course, even to
assign an F. The instructor writes an account of the chronology of the
plagiarism or cheating incident for the DEO (Associate Chair), who
sends an endorsement of the written report of the case to the Associate
Dean for Academic Programs, CLAS. A copy of the report
will be
sent to the student.
-
The College guideline is that
one semester
hour of credit is the equivalent of approximately three hours of work
(class time + out-of-class preparation) each week over the course of a
whole semester. In a typical lecture/discussion course, each hour of
class normally entails at least two hours of outside preparation for
the average student (e.g., in a three-credit-hour lecture course,
standard out-of-class preparation is six hours per week). This standard
is the basis on which the Registrar's Office assigns hours of
University credit for courses.
STUDENT
RIGHTS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
- The College's
Educational Policy Committee suggests that syllabi include a section on
student rights and responsibilities. They suggest the following:
- "All students
in the College have specific rights and responsibilities. You have the
right to adjudication of any complaints you have about classroom
activities or instructor actions. Information on these procedures is
available in the Schedule of Courses and on-line in the College's
Student Academic Handbook (http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/).
You also have the right to expect a classroom environment that enables
you to learn, including modifications if you have a disability."
- "Your
responsibilities to this class-and to your education as a whole-include
attendance
and participation. (Here an instructor could put specific information
on his/her or the department's attendance policy.) You are also
expected to be honest and honorable in your fulfillment of assignments
and in test-taking situations (the College's policy on plagiarism and
cheating is on-line in the College's Student Academic Handbook http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/).
You have a responsibility to the rest of the class-and to the
instructor-to help create a classroom environment where all may learn.
At the most basic level, this means that you will respect the other
members of the class and the instructor, and treat them with the
courtesy you hope to receive in turn."
- This course is given by the College of Liberal
Arts and
Sciences. This means that class policies on matters such
as
requirements, grading, and sanctions for academic dishonesty are
governed by the College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences.
Students wishing to add or drop this course after the official deadline
must receive the approval of the Dean of the College of
Liberal
Arts and Sciences . Details of the University policy of cross
enrollments may be found at:
http://www.uiowa.edu/~provost/deos/crossenroll.doc