Outline

Mathematical Methods in Physics (PHY 230) - Fall 2005

Analytical Topics

These following topics are usually in order.
"McQ x" means the sections for "x" in the textbook Donald A. McQuarrie.
  • Special Functions (McQ 3)
    • principal parts
    • Gaussian integrals
    • error functions, gamma & beta functions, Riemann zeta functions, etc
    • delta functions
  • Infinite Series (McQ 2)
    • convergence and uniform convergence
    • power series
    • summing series
    • asymptotic series
  • Ordinary Differential Equations (McQ 11-13)
    • general DEs
    • linear DEs
    • series expansions, method of Frobenius
    • Legendre polynomials/functions, Bessel functions
    • qualitative nonlinear DEs
  • Eigenfunction methods (McQ 14)
    • orthogonal functions and series
    • convergence and closure
    • Sturm-Liouville theorem and Hermitean operators
    • orthogonalization
    • Green's functions
  • Coordinates (McQ 8)
    • cylindrical and spherical coordinates
    • general orthogonal coordinates
    • grad, div, curl, Laplacian
  • Partial Differential Equations (McQ 16)
    • PDE's of physics
    • separation of variables
    • Laplace and Helmholtz's equations
    • Bessel functions, spherical harmonics
  • Integral Transforms (McQ 17)
    • Fourier transforms
    • power spectra
    • convolution and correlation
    • Laplace transforms
  • Complex Variables (McQ 18-19)
    • analytic functions
    • poles, zeroes, branch points
    • Cauchy's theorem and integral formula
    • Taylor and Laurent series
    • residue theorem and contour integration
    • conformal transformations
  • Probability (McQ 21)
    • permutations and combinations
    • probability distributions
    • binomial, Poisson, Gaussian, Lorentzian, uniform, exponential, and gamma
    • stochastic processes
    • characteristic functions
    • central limit theorem

Computational Topics (Mathematica)

These following topics are not in order. They are mixing in the Computer Labs, the Mathematica Notebooks and the lectures.
  • Numerical Calculations
  • Symbolical Calculations and Solving Equations
  • Calculus -- Differentiation and Integration (symbolical and numerical)
  • Contour Integration
  • Special Functions (Gamma, Legendre, Bessel, Spherical Harmonics, etc)
  • Infinite Series (Power, Fourier, and other Orthogonal)
  • Vectors and Matrices
  • Solving ODEs (symbolical and numerical)
  • Solving PDEs (numerical)
  • FFTs and Image Processing
  • Random Process and Power Spectrum
  • Computer Programming
  • Importing and Exporting Data
  • Graphics and Visualization
    • Plots
    • 3d plots
    • Contour plots (2d and 3d)
    • Density plots
    • Parametric plots (line curve and space curve)
    • Vector Fields
    • Complex mappings
    • Surface and Solid Geometry
    • Effective Graphics
    • Animations