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Lecture Series - James Carlson

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October 25, 2016
11:40AM - 12:40PM
Cockins Hall 240

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Add to Calendar 2016-10-25 11:40:00 2016-10-25 12:40:00 Lecture Series - James Carlson Title: From Harmonic Oscillators to Feynman DiagramsSpeaker: James CarlsonAbstract: The aim of this seminar is to provide mathematicians interested in physics and its interaction with geometry with an understanding of quantum field theory. We begin with a brief review of classical mechanics (Newton's laws and the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulation), then give a physically motivated introduction to the Schroedinger equation. This will be followed by an in-depth study of the harmonic oscillator: in isolation, in coupled systems, the perturbation theory thereof, and the use of Feynman diagrams to manage and understand perturbations. The harmonic oscillator will provide a pathway to our treatment of quantum field theory.This seminar should be accessible to arbitrary mathematics graduate students and postdocs, and to advanced undergraduates with some knowledge of physics, solution of PDE’s via separation of variables, and a passing knowledge of Fourier series and integrals of the kind treated in an engineering mathematics course.Note: This is a recurring seminar lecture series for the entire Autumn 2016 semester on Tuesdays 11:40 - 12:40 and Thursdays 11:40 - 12:40 all in Cockins Hall 240 starting August 23, 2016 with last date of December 8, 2016  Cockins Hall 240 Department of Mathematics math@osu.edu America/New_York public

Title: From Harmonic Oscillators to Feynman Diagrams

Speaker: James Carlson

Abstract: The aim of this seminar is to provide mathematicians interested in physics and its interaction with geometry with an understanding of quantum field theory. We begin with a brief review of classical mechanics (Newton's laws and the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulation), then give a physically motivated introduction to the Schroedinger equation. This will be followed by an in-depth study of the harmonic oscillator: in isolation, in coupled systems, the perturbation theory thereof, and the use of Feynman diagrams to manage and understand perturbations. The harmonic oscillator will provide a pathway to our treatment of quantum field theory.

This seminar should be accessible to arbitrary mathematics graduate students and postdocs, and to advanced undergraduates with some knowledge of physics, solution of PDE’s via separation of variables, and a passing knowledge of Fourier series and integrals of the kind treated in an engineering mathematics course.

Note: This is a recurring seminar lecture series for the entire Autumn 2016 semester on Tuesdays 11:40 - 12:40 and Thursdays 11:40 - 12:40 all in Cockins Hall 240 starting August 23, 2016 with last date of December 8, 2016

 

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