Template:Course Topics

• proper and improper mixed states in quantum mechanics and the density operator,
• entanglement and decoherence in quantum mechanics,
• quantum master equations,
• equilibrium partition function for noninteracting bosons and fermions,
• electrons in solids,
• stellar astrophysics,
• Bose-Einstein condensation in cold atomic gases,
• phase transitions and critical phenomena (with emphasis on magnetic systems),
• mean field theory vs. renormalization group methods,
• quantum phase transitions,
• elements of nonequilibrium statistical physics: Boltzmann equation and Kubo formula