Online courses directory (273)

8.EFTx is an online version of MIT's graduate Effective Field Theory course. The course follows the MIT on-campus class 8.851 as it was given by Professor Iain Stewart in the Fall of 2013, and includes his video lectures, resource material on various effective theories, and a series of problems to facilitate learning the material. Anyone can register for the online version of the course. When the course is being taught on campus, students at MIT or Harvard may also register for 8.851 for course credit.

Effective field theory (EFT) provides a fundamental framework to describe physical systems with quantum field theory. In this course you will learn both how to construct EFTs and how to apply them in a variety of situations. We will cover the majority of the common tools that are used by different effective field theories. In particular: identifying degrees of freedom and symmetries, formulating power counting expansions (both dimensional and non-dimensional), field redefinitions, bottom-up and top-down effective theories, fine-tuned effective theories, matching and Wilson coefficients, reparameterization invariance, and various examples of advanced renormalization group techniques. Examples of effective theories we will cover are the Standard Model as an effective field theory, integrating out the massive W, Z, Higgs, and top, chiral perturbation theory, non-relativistic effective field theories including those with a large scattering length, static sources and Heavy Quark Effective Theory (HQET), and a theory for collider physics, the Soft-Collinear Effective Theory (SCET).

Course Flow

Since this is an advanced graduate physics course, you will find that self-motivation and interaction with others is essential to learning the material. The purpose of the online course is to set you up with a foundation, to teach you to speak the language of EFT, and to connect you with other students and researchers that are interested in learning or broadening their exposure to this subject. Each week you will complete automatically graded homework problems to test your understanding and to help you master the material. You are expected to discuss the homework with other people in the class, but your online responses must be done individually. To facilitate these interactions there will be a forum for student-to-student discussions, with threads to cover different topics, and moderators with experience in this field. Student learning and discussions will also be prompted by questions posed after each lecture topic.

There will be no tests or final exam, but at the end of the course each student will give a 30-minute presentation on an EFT topic of their choosing. The subject of effective field theory is rich and diverse, and far broader than we will be able to cover in a single course. The presentations will create an opportunity for you to learn about additional subjects beyond those in lecture from your fellow students. To facilitate this learning opportunity, each student will be required to watch and grade five presentations from among their fellow students.

Since this is a graduate course, we anticipate that learning the subject and having the 8.EFTx materials available as an online resource will be more valuable to most of you than obtaining a grade. Therefore anyone who registers for the course will be able to retain access to the course materials after the course has ended. Note that when the course is archival mode that the problems can be attempted and checked in the same manner as when the course was running.

Have you ever wondered about planets in other solar systems? Have you ever thought about the possibility of life elsewhere in the Universe? For the first time in human history, we know that planets around other stars not only exist, but are common!

Alien Worlds focuses on the search and characterization of planets orbiting other stars (called extrasolar planets or “exoplanets”). Over the course of nine modules, we will learn some of the techniques used to discover the thousands of known exoplanets and will discuss how we can use basic scientific tools to characterize the sizes, masses, compositions, and atmospheres of exoplanets. We will also learn about the diversity of stars in the Galaxy to understand how stellar properties affect exoplanet detection techniques and influence planetary formation and habitability.

In addition to the exploration of exoplanets, students in Alien Worlds will gain a basic understanding of light, gravity and motion, and be introduced to some of the most extreme life on planet Earth. We will hear from experts at the forefront of exoplanet science and interact with other participants and instructors through social media and online tools. Students will leave Alien Worlds with a better understanding of their place in the Universe and the skills to comprehend the wealth of new discoveries surrounding the countless worlds around distant stars.

This is an introductory astronomy survey class that covers our understanding of the physical universe and its major constituents, including planetary systems, stars, galaxies, black holes, quasars, larger structures, and the universe as a whole. We will learn how modern astronomical observations and applications of physics we know from the planet Earth reveal the nature of these objects and explain their observed properties, and tell us how they form and evolve. We will also examine various cosmic phenomena, from variable or exploding stars to the expansion of the universe and the evidence for dark matter, dark energy, and the big bang. The universe as a whole and all of its major constituents are evolving, and we now have a fairly complete and consistent picture of these processes that is based on the objective evidence from observations and the laws of physics. The goal of this class is both to learn about the fascinating objects and phenomena that populate the universe, and to understand how we know all that.

This course covers examination of the state of knowledge of planetary formation, beginning with planetary nebulas and continuing through accretion (from gas, to dust, to planetesimals, to planetary embryos, to planets). It also includes processes of planetary differentiation, crust formation, atmospheric degassing, and surface water condensation. This course has integrated discussions of compositional and physical processes, based upon observations from our solar system and from exoplanets. Focus on terrestrial (rocky and metallic) planets, though more volatile-rich bodies are also examined.

We will study the fundamental principles of classical mechanics, with a modern emphasis on the qualitative structure of phase space. We will use computational ideas to formulate the principles of mechanics precisely. Expression in a computational framework encourages clear thinking and active exploration.

We will consider the following topics: the Lagrangian formulation; action, variational principles, and equations of motion; Hamilton's principle; conserved quantities; rigid bodies and tops; Hamiltonian formulation and canonical equations; surfaces of section; chaos; canonical transformations and generating functions; Liouville's theorem and Poincaré integral invariants; Poincaré-Birkhoff and KAM theorems; invariant curves and cantori; nonlinear resonances; resonance overlap and transition to chaos; properties of chaotic motion.

Ideas will be illustrated and supported with physical examples. We will make extensive use of computing to capture methods, for simulation, and for symbolic analysis.

The theoretical frameworks of Hartree-Fock theory and density functional theory are presented in this course as approximate methods to solve the many-electron problem. A variety of ways to incorporate electron correlation are discussed. The application of these techniques to calculate the reactivity and spectroscopic properties of chemical systems, in addition to the thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical processes, is emphasized. This course also focuses on cutting edge methods to sample complex hypersurfaces, for reactions in liquids, catalysts and biological systems.

电磁学是普通物理系列中最重要的基础课之一，是高等学校每一个理工科学生必修课程，本课程包括静电场、导体与电介质、恒定电流、恒磁场、磁介质、电磁感应、交流电、电磁场与电磁波等内容，首次系统地向学生介绍“场”的概念和处理“场”的方法，对学生今后学习和工作有深远的影响。本课程作为北京大学首次向中学开放的中国大学先修课（AP课程）之一，为有志于学习物理及相关专业的学有余力的优秀中学生，培养学科兴趣，提高科学素养，打下扎实的物理基础提供学习的环境和应有的资源。