Grading Scheme: The overall grading in this course will be based on two Mid-term exams, each counting for 25% of the course, and a Final Exam counting for the remaining 50%.
The Mid-term exams will be “20-hour take-home exams”. The first one will be given at 4:00 pm on Friday, October 23, and the second at 4:00 pm on Friday, November 20 --- to be turned in at 12:00 noon the next day.
The Final exam will be an “invigilated exam” to be held on Wednesday, December 09, during the period 11:30 am – 2:30 pm.
HW-assignments will be given (pretty much) every Thursday --- beginning October 01. After allowing a week for you to work them out, their solutions will be posted on the course website. The homework will not be collected for grading.
Required Text:
“Mathematical Methods for Physicists” by George B. Arfken and Hans Weber, sixth edition.
Recommended Texts:
1. “Advanced Mathematical Methods for Scientists and Engineers” by Carl M. Bender and Steven A. Orszak.
2. “Mathematical Methods for Physics” by H. W. Wyld.
3. ‘Mathematical Methods of Physics” by Jon Mathews and R. L. Walker
Reference Texts:
1. “Functions of a Complex Variable” by E. T. Copson
2. “A Course in Modern Analysis” by E. M. Whittaker and G. N. Watson
3. “Handbook of Mathematical Functions” by Milton Abramowitz and Irene A. Stegun.
4. “Tables of Integrals, Series and Products” by I. S. Gradshteyn and I. M. Ryzhik
Course Syllabus:
An introduction to mathematical methods used in theoretical physics. Topics include ---
a review of complex variable theory, applications of the Cauchy residue theorem, method of steepest descent, Fourier and Laplace transforms, asymptotic analysis, series solutions of ODEs and related special functions, Sturm-Liouville theory, variational principles, boundary value problems and Green’s function technique.
Updates:
11/24/09 Midterm 2 Solutions posted.
11/19/09 Homework 6 Solutions posted.
11/12/09 Homework 6 posted. Homework 5 Solutions posted.
11/05/09 Homework 5 posted. Homework 4 Solutions posted.
10/29/09 Homework 4 posted.
10/27/09 Midterm 1 Solutions posted.
10/22/09 Homework 3 Solutions posted.
10/15/09 Homework 3 posted. Homework 2 Solutions posted.
10/08/09 Homework 2 posted. Homework 1 Solutions posted.
10/01/09 Homework 1 posted under Handouts.
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