by Ciro Santilli (@cirosantilli, 34)
From the 2020/2021 Oxford physics course handbooks we can determine the following structure:
  • Year 1 (CP, "Coure Preliminaries", "Prelims"). Take all of:
    • CP1 Classical mechanics, Special relativity
    • CP2 Electromagnetism, circuit theory and optics
    • CP3 Mathematical methods 1. Complex Numbers and Ordinary Differential Equations. Vectors and Matrices.
    • CP4 Mathematical methods 2. Multiple Integrals and Vector Calculus. Normal Modes, Wave Motion and the Wave Equation.
  • Year 2 (Part A). Take all of:
    • A1 Thermal physics. Kinetic Theory, Heat Transport, Thermodynamics.
    • A2 Electromagnetism and optics
    • A3 Quantum physics. Quantum Mechanics and Further Quantum Mechanics.
    • Short options: at least one of:
      • Mathematical Methods
      • Probability and Statistics
      • S01 Functions of a Complex Variable
      • S07 Classical Mechanics
      • S10 Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy
      • S13 Teaching and Learning Physics in Schools
      • S14 History of Physics
      • S20 History of Science
      • S21 Philosophy of Science
      • S22 Language Options
      • S25 Climate Physics
      • S27 Philosophy of Space-Time
      • S29 Exploring Solar Systems
      • S33 Entrepreneurship for Physicists
  • Year 3 (Part B). Take all of:
  • Year 4 (MPhys). Select two from:
Trinity term, the third and final term of each year, contains mostly revision from the previous two terms, after which students take their final exams, which basically account for their entire grade. Trinity is therefore a very tense part of the year for the students. After that they have summer holidays, until coming back for the next year of madness.
The official external course landing page: www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/course-listing/physics. 2021 archive: web.archive.org/web/20221208212856/https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/course-listing/physics) In those pages we see the rough structure, except that it does not have the course codes "A1" etc., and some courses are missing.
At web.archive.org/web/20221229021312/https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2011-06-03/course_v3_pdf_80151.pdf page 11 we can see the global course structure giving the two options, 3 year BA or 4 year Oxford physics masters:
Year 1
(Prelims)
|
|
v
Year 2
(Part A)
|
+-----------+
|           |
v           v
Year 3 BA   Year 3 (MPhys)
(Part B)    (Part B)
|           |
|           |
v           v
BA          Year 4
            (Part C)
            |
            |
            v
            MPhys
Practical courses notes: www-teaching.physics.ox.ac.uk/
The normal navigation to them was paywalled, but the static files are served without login checks if you know their URL. One way to go about it is to search by prefix on the Wayback Machine: web.archive.org/web/*/https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/contentblock/2011/06/03/*
The last handbooks we can find are 2020/2021, they might have move to a new more properly paywalled location after that year.
Group of students that represent students academic views about the courses.
users.physics.ox.ac.uk/~lvovsky/B3/ contain assorted PDFs from between 2015 and 2019
Syllabus reads:
  • Multi-electron atoms: central field approximation, electron configurations, shell structure, residual electrostatic interaction, spin orbit coupling (fine structure).
  • Spectra and energy levels: Term symbols, selection rules, X-ray notation, Auger transitions.
  • Hyperfine structure; effects of magnetic fields on fine and hyperfine structure. Presumably Zeeman effect.
  • Two level system in a classical light field: Rabi oscillations and Ramsey fringes, decaying states; Einstein
  • A and B coefficients; homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening of spectral lines; rate equations.
  • Optical absorption and gain: population inversion in 3- and 4-level systems; optical gain cross section; saturated absorption and gain.
Professor in 2000s seems to be
But as of 2023 marked emeritus, so who took over?
Ewart is actually religious:
This dude is pure trouble for Oxford!
www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/people/AndreiStarinets/sr_mt_2022.html (archive) contains 2022 problem sets and notes, well done Mr Andrei Starinets!
www-pnp.physics.ox.ac.uk/~barra/teaching.shtml As of 2023, contains some good 2015 materials: web.archive.org/web/20220525094139/http://www-pnp.physics.ox.ac.uk/~barra/teaching.shtml It was called "Subatomic physics" back then.
2015 professor: Alan J. Barr.
Possible 2022 professor: Guy Wilkinson (unconfirmed): www.chch.ox.ac.uk/staff/professor-guy-wilkinson
users.ox.ac.uk/~corp0014/B6-lectures.html gives a syllabus:
  • Heat capacity in solids, localised harmonic oscillator models (Dulong-Petit law and Einstein model)
  • Heat capacity in solids, a model of sound waves (Debye model)
  • A gas of classical charged particles (Drude theory)
  • A gas of charged fermions (Sommerfeld theory)
  • Bonding
  • Microscopic theory of vibrations: the 1D monatomic harmonic chain. Mike Glazer's Chainplot program.
  • Microscopic theory of vibrations: the 1D diatomic harmonic chain
  • Microscopic theory of electrons in solids: the 1D tight-binding chain
  • Geometry of solids: crystal structure in real space. VESTA, 3D visualization program for structural models; an example crystal structure database.
  • Geometry of solids: real space and reciprocal space. Reciprocal Space teaching and learning package.
  • Reciprocal space and scattering. A fun way to discover the world of crystals and their symmetries through diffraction.
  • Scattering experiments II
  • Scattering experiments III
  • Waves in reciprocal space
  • Nearly-free electron model
  • Band structure and optical properties
  • Dynamics of electrons in bands
  • Semiconductor devices. Intel's "A History of Innovation"; Moore's Law; From Sand to Circuits.
  • Magnetic properties of atoms
  • Collective magnetism. A micromagnetic simulation tool, The Object Oriented MicroMagnetic Framework (OOMMF); OOMMF movies of magnetic domains and domain reversal.
  • Mean field theory
Problem set dated 2015: users.ox.ac.uk/~corp0014/B6-materials/B6_Problems.pdf Marked by: A. Ardavan and T. Hesjedal. Some more stuff under: users.ox.ac.uk/~corp0014/B6-materials/
The book is the fully commercial The Oxford Solid State Basics.
Students choose only one of the Cx courses.
Then there are PhDs corresponding to each of them: www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/mpls/physics
Video 1.
A very honest review of my Oxford University master's degree (theoretical physics at keble college) by alicedoesphysics (2020)
Source. Basically all her courses are from the Mathematical Institute of the University of Oxford, and therefore show up at the Moodle of the Oxford Mathematics Institute of Oxford.
Interesting presentation cycle at Merton BTW: www.arturekert.org/teaching/merton
Artur looks like a cool teacher.
At least they have a fucking clear course schedule unlike the undergrad.
Professor: Radu Coldea
This could refer to several more specific courses, see the tagged articles for a list.
Notes/book: www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/people/SteveSimon/QCM2022/QuantumMatter.pdf Marked as being for Oxford MMathPhys, so it appears that this is a 4th year course normally. TODO but where is it listed under the course list of MMapthPhys? mmathphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/course-schedule
  • Fermi Liquids
    • Weakly Interacting Fermions
    • Response Functions and Screening
      • Thomas Fermi
      • RPA
      • Plasmons
    • Landau Fermi Liquid Theory
  • Superfluidity
    • Two Fluid Model and Quantized Circulation
    • Landau Criterion for Superfluidity
    • Two Fluid Model for Superconductors
      • London Theory
      • Flux Vortices
      • Type I and Type II superconductors
    • Microscopic Superfluidity
      • Coherent States
      • Bose Condensation
      • Gross Pitaevskii Equation
      • Off Diagonal Long Range Order
      • Feynman Theory of Superfluidity (in book, but will skip in lectures. Not examinable)
    • Ginzburg Landau Theory of Superfluids
      • Neutral Superfluids
      • Charged Superfluids
      • Anderson - Higgs Mechanism
      • Rederviation of London Equations
      • Ginzburg - Landau Parameter and Type I/II revisited
      • Vortex Structure
  • BCS Theory of Superconductors
    • Phonons
    • The Cooper Problem
    • BCS wavefunction
    • Bogoliubov Excitation Spectrum
    • Majorana Physics
2010- professor: Steven H. Simon

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