Fundamentals of Condensed Matter Physics

Covering all the central areas and contemporary topics of this diverse field, Fundamentals of Condensed Matter Physics is a much-needed textbook for graduate students.

Marvin L. Cohen (Author), Steven G. Louie (Author)

9780521513319, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 May 2016

460 pages, 246 b/w illus. 9 tables 100 exercises
25.2 x 19.3 x 2.4 cm, 1.16 kg

'Is there room in this crowded market for yet another textbook? Having reviewed this book, I would say that the answer is an emphatic YES! … Move aside A&M - here at last comes a worthy successor! …This is clearly a book by two leading theoretical/computational scientists … the focus is on the underlying theory and the computational methods used to explore these ideas. … The many hours of 'road testing' the explanations shows through, and so all of the concepts are clearly explained in words, equations and figures, and the overall feel is very fresh and readable. At long last, there is now an excellent graduate-level textbook that covers all of modern condensed matter physics at a reasonable level. This book is a 'must-have' for every researcher in this field - whether a new graduate student or a seasoned 'old hand' - there is something for everyone in this book.' Matt Probert, Contemporary Physics

Based on an established course and covering the fundamentals, central areas and contemporary topics of this diverse field, Fundamentals of Condensed Matter Physics is a much-needed textbook for graduate students. The book begins with an introduction to the modern conceptual models of a solid from the points of view of interacting atoms and elementary excitations. It then provides students with a thorough grounding in electronic structure and many-body interactions as a starting point to understand many properties of condensed matter systems - electronic, structural, vibrational, thermal, optical, transport, magnetic and superconducting - and methods to calculate them. Taking readers through the concepts and techniques, the text gives both theoretically and experimentally inclined students the knowledge needed for research and teaching careers in this field. It features 246 illustrations, 9 tables and 100 homework problems, as well as numerous worked examples, for students to test their understanding. Solutions to the problems for instructors are available at www.cambridge.org/cohenlouie.

Part I. Basic Concepts: Electrons and Phonons: 1. Concept of a solid: qualitative introduction and overview
2. Electrons in crystals
3. Electronic energy bands
4. Lattice vibrations and phonons
Part II. Electron Intercations, Dynamics and Responses: 5. Electron dynamics in crystals
6. Many-electron interactions: the interacting electron gas and beyond
7. Density functional theory
8. The dielectric function for solids
Part III. Optical and Transport Phenomena: 9. Electronic transitions and optical properties of solids
10. Electron-phonon interactions
11. Dynamics of crystal electrons in a magnetic field
12. Fundamentals of transport phenomena in solids
Part IV. Superconductivity, Magnetism, and Lower Dimensional Systems: 13. Using many-body techniques
14. Superconductivity
15. Magnetism
16. Reduced-dimensional systems and nanostructures
Index.

Subject Areas: Materials science [TGM], Mechanical engineering & materials [TG], Technology, engineering, agriculture [T], Condensed matter physics [liquid state & solid state physics PHFC], Materials / States of matter [PHF], Physics [PH], Mathematics & science [P]