Theoretical physics

This is the follow-up couse to the quantum field theory class of the first semester. Topics we will cover include non-abelian gauge symmetry, spontaneous symmetry breaking, and the Higgs mechanism, all needed to understand the inner workings of the Standard Model, which we shall discuss in some detail.

This course is an introduction to geometrical critical phenomena and their description by means of algebraic, probabilistic and quantum field theoretical techniques. 

In this course, you will learn tools and ideas developed by statistical physics to deal with "complex systems". These tools can be used in different contexts, including economics and social sciences where the modelling of collective phenomena, crises, panics, and discontinuities, is more necessary than ever.

Many physical systems exhibit phase transitions, i.e. abrupt changes in their properties when a parameter crosses a threshold value: a fluid changes from a liquid to a gaseous state at the evaporation temperature, a magnet loses its magnetic properties at the Curie temperature, and so on.

Ce cours présente une introduction à la mécanique analytique. Loin de se cantonner à la mécanique, les principes variationnels sont présents dans tous les domaines de la physique (optique, hydrodynamique, mécanique quantique, etc...), ce que nous illustrerons lors des travaux dirigés.

Dans le cadre de ce cours, nous allons étudier les interactions fondamentales de la physique des particules, décrites par le modèle standard, avec comme prérequis l’électromagnétisme élémentaire et la mécanique quantique.