Introduction to Cosmology
Cosmology is the scientific study of the Universe as a whole. It aims to understand what the Universe is made of, and its evolution from the Big Bang until today (and into the future).
You’ll study:
- observational evidence for the Big Bang
- how the expansion of the Universe depends on its contents and geometry
- how the contents of the Universe evolve as it expands and cools
- dark matter and dark energy: observational evidence and the latest theoretical models
- inflation, a proposed period of accelerated expansion in the very early Universe
Atmospheric and Planetary Physics
In this module you will explore the physics of planets and their atmospheres — a topic that is at the forefront of modern astrophysics and planetary science.
In the last few decades, the discovery of thousands of exoplanets beyond our Solar System has revolutionised the study of planets and their atmospheres.
Closer to home, understanding the physical processes at play in the Earth’s atmosphere remains vital for predicting weather and climate.
You’ll study:
- Exoplanet detection methods and the physics of planet formation
- The structure, temperature and composition of planetary atmospheres
- Atmospheric dynamics
- Exoplanet atmospheres and the search for biosignatures
Scientific Computing
This module aims to provide you with the skills necessary to use computational methods in the solution of non-trivial problems in physics and astronomy. You’ll also sharpen your programming skills through a three hour computing class and one hour of lectures per week.
Quantum Coherent Phenomena
This module will introduce a number of systems in which quantum coherent phenomena are observed, discuss their common features and the general underlying theoretical ideas for their description as well as some of their applications.
- Bose condensation review of Bose statistics, BEC, BEC in cold atomic gases.
- Superfluidity in Helium-4 quantum fluids, macroscopic wave functions, superfluidity, non-classical rotational inertia and vortices, phonon and roton excitations.
- Superconductivity conduction in metals, superconducting materials, zero-resistivity, Meissner effect, perfect diamagnetism, type I and type II behaviour, London theory.
- BCS theory of superconductivity.- electron-phonon interaction, Cooper pairs, BCS wave function, order parameter and microscopic origin of GL.
- Applications: squids, superconducting magnets etc.
Force and Function at the Nanoscale
We will study some of the fundamental forces at the nanoscale and look at the role of key concepts such as entropy. We will also learn how we can visualise and measure the nanoscale structures that form.
The nanoscale world is very different from our regular experience. Thermal energy pushes and pulls everything towards a state of disorder whilst nanoscale forces allow for materials to resist this and stay together. We will study some of the fundamental forces at the nanoscale and look at the role of key concepts such as entropy. We will also learn how we can visualise and measure the nanoscale structures that form.
While the forces we will study operate over distances as small as 1 nanometre we will explore how these concepts are responsible for phenomena in our everyday world we often don’t even think about:
- Why is a droplet spherical?
- What is going on when you scramble an egg?
- How can a gecko walk across a perfectly smooth ceiling?
- Why do you use soap when you wash?
- Why don’t oil and water mix?
Principles of Dynamics
This module will introduce you to the mathematical language behind the classical mechanics describing our universe. You will learn about Lagrangians and Hamiltonians, the starting place from which we can determine the dynamics of complicated systems, like pendula and planets orbiting the sun, as well as the origin of conserved quantities such as energy and momentum.
This is a fun module. At school you learnt Kepler’s Laws, Newton’s Law of Gravity, and F=ma, but how can you derive these amazing results? Where do they come from?
Here you will find out, as we introduce you to the mathematical language behind the classical mechanics describing our universe. You will learn about Lagrangians and Hamiltonians, the starting place from which we can determine the dynamics of complicated systems, like pendula and planets orbiting the sun, as well as the origin of conserved quantities such as energy and momentum. For two hours a week we will take you into the mathematics and ideas of giants like Newton, Euler, Lagrange, Noether and Hamilton.
Among many exciting things, you will study:
- Newton’s Laws and deriving the orbits predicted by Kepler
- Lagrangians and Hamiltonians, the building blocks behind classical mechanics
- The Euler-Lagrange equations describing the dynamics behind classical systems
- Rigid bodies – introducing moments of inertia, centre of mass and more so that we can apply these results to many particle rigid systems, like pendulums and even you
- Constraints – how to determine the dynamics of a system where it is constrained, for example, the motion of an explorer constrained to be on the surface of the earth
- The motion of charged particles, like electrons in an electromagnetic field
- Hamilton’s equations as an alternative way to determine the dynamics of a system, particularly useful when we are searching for conserved quantities like angular momentum
- Spinning tops – what? You heard right, the vital roles of gyroscopes in our life are understood by 5-year-olds, but the mathematics certainly is not. Thanks to this course, now you can understand that as well.
The Structure of Galaxies
This module will develop your current understanding of the various large-scale physical processes that dictate the formation, evolution and structure of galaxies, from when the Universe was in its infancy to the present day.
You’ll explore a range of topics, starting with the fundamentals of observational techniques used by astronomers for understanding the structure of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. We will then look at the more sophisticated ways of unpicking the physics that drives the complexity we see throughout the population of galaxies in the Universe.
Specifically, in this module, you will study:
- The structure of the Milky Way – how we determine the structure of the Milky Way, its rotation curve and what this implies for its dark matter content
- Properties of galaxies in the Universe – how astronomers classify galaxies, the properties of the different classes and how their constituents vary between classes
- Dynamics of galaxies – kinematics of the gas and stars in galaxies, why spiral arms form, the theory of epicycles, bar formation, different types of orbits of matter within galaxies
- Active galaxies – radio galaxies, quasars and active galactic nuclei, super-massive black holes
- The environment of galaxies – how the environment that a galaxy resides in affects its evolution and structure
- Galaxy evolution – observations of galaxy evolution from the early Universe to the present day, models of galaxy evolution.
The Structure of Stars
In this module you will learn how the same physics that works on Earth – gravity, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, optics, quantum physics, atomic and nuclear physics – is used to understand stars. You will explore the most important physical processes occurring in stars of different types. You will then use this knowledge to build mathematical models of stars and to understand their internal structure, their formation, evolution, and death.
You’ll study:
- How astronomers measure the most important properties of stars such as their mass, size, distance, brightness, temperature, chemical composition and age. This module will then teach you how physics is able to explain these properties.
- How energy is generated inside stars through nuclear fusion, and how it is transported to the surface to make stars shine.
- How to write the equations that describe the structure of stars, and how to use them to build mathematical models that explain their properties and evolution.
- How stars are born, how they evolve with time, how long they live, how they die, and what remnants they leave behind. You will be able to understand, for instance, how supernovae explode and how some black holes form.
Symmetry and Action Principles in Physics
Symmetry plays a central role in physics. Most of the fundamental Laws of modern physics have been formulated using symmetry principles. Symmetry is also expected to guide for further understanding and development of theories of physical phenomena.
Through a combination of lectures, engagement sessions and workshops, this module equips you with:
- the key concepts of symmetry
- the correspondence between symmetries and conservation laws
- the derivations of physics laws from the action principles
- and the consequences of symmetry breaking.
You’ll study:
- Symmetries of space and phase space using classical mechanics
- Symmetries of spacetime and in electromagnetism using special relativity
- Main symmetry groups of modern physics laws
- How structures in nature are results of symmetry breaking.