Physics 4321 / 7305 Syllabus - Fall 2009
Fourier series: vector dot-product analogy; orthogonality and closure;
expansions (even, odd, neither); Fourier transforms.
Generalized Functions / Distributions: delta function, theta step Heavyside
function, and their derivatives and Laplace transforms;
applications to electric charge distributions.
Ordinary Differential Equations: order, linearity, homogeneity;
examples simple harmonic oscillator, damped SHO,
damped driven SHO, resonance, Green functions.
Coordinate Systems; Scale functions; Divergence, Gradient, Curl, Laplacian.
Partial Differential Equations: Separation of variables, Cartesian
coordinates in 1, 2, and 3 dimensions, Cylindrical
Polar coordinates, Spherical Polar coordinates,
example Laplace's Equation, Green functions.
Group Theory: Discrete groups: cyclic groups Zn; dihedral groups Dn; symmetric groups Sn; alternating groups An.
Group multiplication tables. Representations. Sporadic groups.
Lie groups: SO(2); SO(3); SO(n); SU(n); Sp(2n).
Complex Analysis: Roots of Unity, Cauchy-Riemann equations, analyticity, contour integrals,
residues, Laurent expansion
Chaos: Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions Nonlinearity, Fractals, Hausdorf Dimension,
Lyapunov Exponents, Hennon Map, Logistic Map,
Cantor Dust, Sierpinski Gasket, Menger Sponge, Mandelbrot Set, Julia Set,
Chua's Circuit, Period 3 Implies Chaos
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