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Advanced Electromagnetism (PHYSICS 232)

Maxwell's equations in macroscopic media, conservation laws, Green's functions, time-dependent solutions and radiation, scattering and diffraction, and gauge invariance. Time permitting: geometrical optics and caustics, negative refractive index materials and radiation from rapidly accelerating charges.
Subir Sachdev | Spring 2020 | Harvard University

Algebraic Topology (MATH 231A)

Covering spaces and fibrations. Simplicial and CW complexes, Homology and cohomology, universal coefficients and Künneth formulas. Hurewicz theorem. Manifolds and Poincaré duality.
Hana Jia Kong | Fall 2023 | Harvard University

Modern Atomic and Optical Physics I (PHYSICS 285A)

Introduction to modern atomic physics. The fundamental concepts and modern experimental techniques will be introduced. Topics will include: Two-state systems, magnetic resonance, interaction of radiation with atoms, transition probabilities, spontaneous and stimulated emission, dressed atoms, trapping, laser cooling. Structure of simple atoms, coupling to fields, light scattering. Fundamental symmetries and introduction to molecules and artificial atoms. Selected experiments. The first of a two-term subject sequence that provides the foundations for contemporary research.
Susanne Yelin | Fall 2023 | Harvard University

Frontiers in Biophysics (CHEM 163)

This interdisciplinary course will explore the physical interactions that underpin life: the interactions of molecules, macromolecular structures, and cells in warm, wet, squishy environments.  Topics will include Brownian motion, diffusion in a potential field, continuum mechanics of polymers, rods, and membranes, low Reynolds number flow, interfacial forces, electrostatics in solution.  The course will also cover recently developed biophysical tools, including laser tweezers, superresolution microscopies, and optogenetics.  Numerical simulations in Matlab will be used extensively.
Adam Cohen | Fall 2022 | Harvard University