Soft Condensed Matter

variety of systems are driven out of equilibrium by converting energy to momentum at the constituent particle level. Self-propelling particles then interact and spontaneously organize into large-scale patterns. These active matters exhibit exotic properties such as collective motion, zero and negative viscosity, and production of net work from noise. Examples of active matter cover many orders of amplitude on length scale, ranging from microtubules in cells (nm) to schools of fish and flocks of birds(m).

Adv Statistcl Physic

Phase transitions and mean field theory, critical exponents and universality. Ginzburg-Landau theory: fluctuations, Ginzburg criterion, upper/lower critical dimensions, Goldstone modes. Renormalization group: Foundations, Perturbative RG, epsilon expansion, Large N expansion. XY model: Topological defects, Coulomb gas and Kosterlitz?Thouless transition. Nonlinear sigma models. Random Systems. Introduction to conformal invariance. Prerequisite: PHYSICS 602
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