Course Announcements
« PHYS600 Summer 2017
Midterm Exam
Wed 05Jul2017 11:23AMWe will have the midterm exam for PHYS600 on Friday, July 7 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm in Physics, room 338 (regular class room) UNLESS otherwise notified by Email. This is a change from the description on the syllabus and also our earlier discussions in class. So please take a note! No class will be held on July 7 during the regular class time in the morning to compensate for the exam in the afternoon.
It is closed book and covers all materials discussed during the first half of this course, including the materials covered in homework. Any complicated formulas needed (and not easily rederivable) will be given in the exam - so no crib sheets are allowed. If you find during the exam that you need any particular formula, speak up and let me know. Then I MIGHT provide it to everyone (if I think it's appropriate to do so).
Good Luck! You deserve it.
H. Nakanishi
Correction on Homework 3 due date
Mon 26Jun2017 11:45AMHomework 3 is due on MONDAY, July 3, in class.
(Originally, it said Wednesday, July 3. Sorry!)
Mr. Liang (Grader) Office Hours
Wed 21Jun2017 11:49AMMr. Jingcheng Liang will hold office hours on Fridays, 4 - 5pm in Physics Rm.291 from this week through Week 4 of this course. This is a change from Week 1 for Mr. Zhong; so please take note. Thanks.
Lecure 4 (6/19/2017)
Mon 19Jun2017 11:54AMToday, we discussed a lot of different topics, which range over multiple chapters in our text. As I mentioned, I am mixing the reference to general linear transformations and that to matrices. In our text (7th edition), explicit treatment of matrices is in Chapter 2, while more general discussion of linear operators are mainly in Chapters 5 and 6. Today's lecture ranged over Capters 2, 5, and 6 in this sense.
For example, there are discussions of Hermitian and unitary matrices and functions of matrices in Section 2.2, while those of Hermitian and Unitary transformations are in Section 5.4 and 5.5. The bra-ket (or Dirac) notation is first introduced in 5.5.1. Hermitian eigenvalue problems are in 6.3 and 6.4, and normal matrices are in 6.5. So I did skip around relative to the text's organization, but everything I discussed is in the text, and my presentation did follow a certain logical sequence (slightly different from the text's). All of this was previously in Chapter 3 in the 6th edition, which is closer to my organization. As we cannot specify an older edition as a text, I am forced to use the 7th edition as our text, but, obviously, I prefer the sequence used in the 6th edition.
Later, after we are done with the linear operations (matrices), we will talk about differential calculus (in Chap.3) and finally about complex number algebra and functions of a complex variable (parts of Chap.1 and Chap.11).
My best suggestion is to take accurate notes (and study the reference materials posted if any), but failing that, you should at least note the key points, names and types of operators, notations, theorems, etc. that are introduced and discussed as well as the logical sequence used. Then you can look up those items in the index of the text for the relevant sections. If you just sit there and take no notes at all, you may be in for a big problem unless you have photographic memory (undoubtedly some of you do, though, and if so, that's fine).
Sorry but I won't post "lecture notes" or "videos". I consider note-taking to be an essential ability you should have developed at this level. If you need such things fed to you, I am sure you can find some "notes" or "videos" on the internet that may be helpful. But for your own benefit, I suggest you start developing this skill right now.
Thank you.
Hisao Nakanishi