Fundamentals of Condensed Matter Physics

Based on an established course and covering the fundamentals, central areas, and contemporary topics of this diverse field, Fundamentals of Condensed Matter Physics is a much-needed textbook for graduate students. The book begins with an introduction to the modern conceptual models of a solid from the points of view of interacting atoms and elementary excitations. It then provides students with a thorough grounding in electronic structure and many-body interactions as a starting point to understand many properties of condensed matter systems - electronic, structural, vibrational, thermal, optical, transport, magnetic and superconducting - and methods to calculate them. Taking readers through the concepts and techniques, the text gives both theoretically and experimentally inclined students the knowledge needed for research and teaching careers in this field. It features 246 illustrations, 9 tables and 100 homework problems, as well as numerous worked examples, for students to test their understanding. Solutions to the problems for instructors are available at www.cambridge.org/cohenlouie.Part I. Basic Concepts: Electrons and Phonons: 1. Concept of a solid: qualitative introduction and overview; 2. Electrons in crystals; 3. Electronic energy bands; 4. Lattice vibrations and phonons; Part II. Electron Intercations, Dynamics and Responses: 5. Electron dynamics in crystals; 6. Many-electron interactions: the interacting electron gas and beyond; 7. Density functional theory; 8. The dielectric function for solids; Part III. Optical and Transport Phenomena: 9. Electronic transitions and optical properties of solids; 10. Electron-phonon interactions; 11. Dynamics of crystal electrons in a magnetic field; 12. Fundamentals of transport phenomena in solids; Part IV. Superconductivity, Magnetism, and Lower Dimensional Systems: 13. Using many-body techniques; 14. Superconductivity; 15. Magnetism; 16. Reduced-dimensional systems and nanostructures; Index.