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FYS4411 - Computational physics II: Quantum mechanical systems

Facts about this course: Credits: 10 Level: Advanced course at master's level Teaching semester: Every spring semester If the course is offered, a minimum of four students is required for ordinary lectures to take place. If less than four students participate, an exam will be given, but one should not expect ordinary teaching. Examination semester: Every spring semester Language of instruction: English if requested by exchange students, otherwise Norwegian Administrated by: Department of Physics

Detailed course information - Current and previous semesters: Spring 2012 Spring 2011 Spring 2010

Course content

This is an advanced course on computational physics with an emphasis on quantum mechanical systems with many interacting particles. The applications and the computational methods are relevant for research problems in such diverse areas as nuclear, atomic, molecular and solid-state physics, chemistry and materials science.
A theoretical understanding of the behavior of quantum-mechanical many-body systems - that is, systems containing many interacting particles - is a considerable challenge in that no exact solution can be found; instead, reliable methods are needed for approximate but accurate simulations of such systems on modern computers. New insights and a better understanding of complicated quantum mechanical systems can only be obtained via large-scale simulations. The capability to study such systems is of high relevance for both fundamental research and industrial and technological advances.

The aim of this course is to present applications of, through various computational projects, some of the most widely used many-body methods with pertinent algorithms and high-performance computing topics such as advanced parallelization techniques and object orientation.
The methods and algorithms that will be studied may vary from year to year depending on the interests of the participants, but the main focus will be on systems from computational material science, solid-state physics, atomic and molecular physics, nuclear physics and quantum chemistry. The most relevant algorithms and methods are microscopic mean-field theories (Hartree-Fock and Kohn-Sham theories and density functional theories), large-scale diagonalization methods, coupled-cluster theory, and quantum Monte Carlo like Variational Monte Carlo and Diffusion Monte Carlo approaches. Methods to study phase transitions for both fermionic and bosonic systems can also be addressed.

Learning outcomes

The course introduces a variety of central algorithms and methods for professional studies of quantum mechanical systems, with relevance for several problems in physics, materials science and quantum chemistry. The course is project based and through the various projects, normally two, the participants will be exposed to fundamental research problems in these fields, with the aim to reproduce state of the art scientific results. The students will learn to develop and structure large codes for studying these systems, get aquainted with supercomputing facilities and learn to handle large scientific projects. A good scientific and ethical conduct is emphasized throughout the course.

The course is also a continuation of FYS3150 - Computational physics, and it will give a further treatment of several of the numerical methods given there.

Admission

Courses with less than three students registrered will normally be cancelled.

Students at UiO must apply for courses in StudentWeb.

International applicants, if you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.

The examination in this course is not available for external candidates. Only students admitted to the course may sit for the examination.

Prerequisites

Recommended prior knowledge

FYS3150 - Computational physics
FYS3110 - Quantum mechanics or
FYS-MENA3110 - Kvantenanofysikk or
FYS4110 - Non-relativistic quantum mechanics or
FYS-KJM4480 - Quantum mechanics for many-particle systems

Overlap

5 credits against FYS4410 - Computational physics II. 5 credits against FYS9410 - Computational physics II. 10 credits against FYS9411 - Computational physics II: Quantum mechanical systems.

Teaching

The course is given in the spring term and contains 2 hours of lectures per week. The course also contains laboratory work and project work solved by using computers.

Teaching takes place throughout the semester.

Criteria for access to teaching resources

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, contingent on available capacity.

Exam information

Two projects have to be approved in order to be able to attend the oral exam. The final oral examination is based on these projects.

Exam resources

No special exam resources are allowed.

Language of examination

The language of examination is Norwegian. You can apply to the administrators of the course to be given the exam text in English. It is possible to submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Assessment and grading

Course grades are awarded on a descending scale using alphabetic grades from A to E for passes and F for fail. Read more about the grading system .

An external auditor regularly evaluates the academic quality of the course, including the form of exam used on the course.

Explanations and appeals

Students can request an explanation of their grades, and can also appeal against their grades or make a complaint about formal examination errors. Read more about explanations and appeals

Possibility of make-up exams and re-takes

You can usually resit an exam, but the conditions depend on whether you had a valid reason for absence from the regular exam. Read more about resitting an exam .

Exam options for students with special needs

Students may apply for access to alternative exam resources or exam forms on the basis of chronic illness and/or special needs that create a marked disadvantage to other students in the exam situation. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.

Evaluation of this course

Feedback from our students is essential to us in our efforts to ensure and further improve the high quality of our programmes and courses. As a student at the University of Oslo you will therefore be asked to participate in various types of evaluation of our courses, facilities and services. All courses are subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students on a particular course to participate in a more comprehensive, in-depth evaluation of this course, a so called "periodic evaluation".

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