1. Electronic band structure of solids (Ali Alavi)
To develop a secure understanding of theoretical solid state physics, one needs a good grasp of second quantization in quantum mechanics, and how it is applied in both real-space and reciprocal-space formulations. The electronic structure problem, including how to deal with the important effect of electron-electron interactions, will be introduced, starting from Hartree-Fock theory and going onto more sophisticated diagrammatic methods which are used in modern applications.
2. Electronic transport (Jochen Mannhart)
Electronic transport in metals and semiconductors will be discussed from basic concepts to very recent topics; 1. From Drude to quantum transport, 2.From free electrons to strong correlations and 3. From two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) to fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) and beyond.
3. Superconductivity (Hidenori Takagi)
Superconductivity is one of the most fascinating and intriguing phase of matter. An introduction of superconductivity, including key experimental observations, Copper paring and BCS theory, will be given first. Exotic superconductivity with unconventional Cooper pairing will be discussed then as the recent topics of the field.
4. Spectroscopy of solids (Bernhard Keimer)
We will discuss the basic theoretical description for scattering of photons, neutrons, and electrons from solids in terms of correlation and response functions. We will then highlight examples from current solid-state research where these methods are playing an essential role.