July 16, 2024. I previously reflected on my undergraduate coursework at the end of my BSc at UBC - with the MSc now coming to a close, I wanted to do the same for my graduate coursework. For each course I have taken, I will list the content covered, give my impressions and opinions, and give two ratings from 1-5; one of the difficulty of the course (relative to when I took it), and another on my overall enjoyment of it.

Contents

PHYS 500 - Quantum Mechanics I

  • Instructor: Ariel Zhitnitsky
  • Textbook: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by Griffiths.
  • Topics Covered: Angular momentum and spin, Electromagnetic interactions, Gauge invariance, Addition of angular momentum, Time-independent perturbation theory, Fine and hyperfine structure of Hydrogen, WKB approximation, Time-dependent perturbation theory, Spontaneous Emission, Electric transitions, Selection rules, Adiabatic approximation, Berry phase, Aharonov-Bohm Effect, Scattering and resonance scattering.
  • Thoughts: Was fairly disappointed with this course, and felt large portions of the material was upper-undergraduate level rather than graduate. I enjoyed learning about adiabatic evolution and Berry phase but other topics (Angular momentum, Perturbation theory, WKB, Transitions, Scattering) felt pretty standard and not too interesting (and not too insightful with regards to quantum information research). Assignments tended to be long and not particularly rewarding. Ariel was enthusiastic and funny, but not always the most clear. My lecture notes from the course can be found here.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - Material not strictly hard conceptually/somewhat standard, but moved fairly quickly.
  • Overall Rating: 2/5 - Quantum could be done much better!

PHYS 500 - Quantum Mechanics I (TAd)

  • Instructors: Andrew Potter
  • Textbook: Introduction to Quantum Information Science Lecture Notes by Scott Aaronson, Quantum Computation (lecture notes) by John Preskill, Lectures on Quantum Mechanics by Gordon Baym, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by Shankar.
  • Topics Covered: Postulates of quantum mechanics, Mixed states, Entanglement and entanglement entropy, Identical particles and exchange statistics, Time-dependent perturbation theory, Adiabatic motion and corrections, Charged particles in EM fields, Interaction of EM radiation and atoms, Relativistic fermions.
  • Thoughts: Much more conceptually rich, with a higher level of sophistication in the approach/topics chosen as well as a more contemporary perspective on the subject. I sat in on Drew’s lectures as a TA and found them quite insightful, even on material I had come across previously (though I could also understand that the material could be difficult for those encountering topics for the first time). My favourite bits of the course were those about quantum information, but I’m of course biased.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4.5/5 - The course was fast-paced and covered difficult concepts, and would be difficult to follow without effort or affinity for the material.
  • Overall Rating: 4.5/5 - The 500 course I would have wanted to take!

PHYS 502 - Condensed Matter Physics I

  • Instructors: Marcel Franz
  • Textbook: Solid-State Physics by Ashcroft and Mermin
  • Topics Covered: Solids as interacting quantum many-body systems, Second quantization for fermions and bosons, Electrons in solids, Boson systems, Electrons in periodic potentials, Semiclassical theory of conduction in metals, Electron-phonon interactions, Elements of superconductivity.
  • Thoughts: A benchmark for a great course! The level of the material hovers between upper undergraduate and graduate, with Ashcroft and Mermin being supplemented by more modern second quantization formalism. Marcel was a very clear lecturer. The course didn’t get to the most interesting bits of condensed matter theory (save for a few lectures on superconductivity towards the end) but a great introduction to the topic. My lecture notes from the course can be found here.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3/5 - Not strictly easy, but smooth pace and clarity of exposition made things very manageable.
  • Overall Rating: 4.5/5 - My favourite graduate course taken at UBC.

PHYS 516 - Statistical Mechanics

  • Instructors: Gordon Walter Semenoff
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Fundamentals of statistical mechanics, Phase transitions and critical exponents, \(D = 1,2,3\) Ising models, Mean field theory, Quantum field theory, Universality, Renormalization, Elementary conformal field theory.
  • Thoughts: A course studying the Ising model from different perspectives for 3 months. Had interesting bits of insight but often too meticulous on details/hard to follow, particularly in the latter half of the course (at which references/readings also became more sparse). The Ising model is a good candidate system for studying various aspects of advanced statistical mechanics, but I did feel that the course had a bit too singular of a focus at times. I liked the assessment style of the course which was split between (4) homework assignments with detailed tutorial-style calculations and a lightly-weighted oral midterm and final with conceptual questions. My lecture notes from the course can be found here.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4/5 - The latter half of the course is quite technical and hard to grasp, but doing well in the course is not too difficult with effort.
  • Overall Rating: 3/5 - Interesting at times, but not my favourite - a little bit too singular and technical in its focus.

PHYS 526 - Quantum Field Theory I

  • Instructors: Gordon Walter Semenoff
  • Textbook: Quantum Field Theory: An Introduction by Gordon Walter Semenoff.
  • Topics Covered: Many-particle systems, Second Quantization, Symmetries and Noether’s theorem, Space-time symmetries, Scalar/Tensor/Vector fields, Emergent relativistic QFT, Dirac equation and Dirac QFT, Photons, Quantum Electrodynamics, Functional methods, Perturbation theory, Feynman diagrams, Renormalization of QED.
  • Thoughts: A must-study subject for any theoretical physicist. I found it an accessible introduction, taught with the understanding that many of the students are not necessarily versed in graduate quantum mechanics and classical field theory/electromagnetism. Gordon is a gem but my conceptual understanding from lectures started to drop off towards the end of the course. While I felt as I could understand given parts of a calculation at a given time, I don’t think I understood the concepts of QFT very well at the end of the course - I think I would struggle to do a scattering amplitude calculation, for example. I liked the assessment style of the course which was split between (8) homework assignments with detailed tutorial-style calculations and a lightly-weighted oral midterm and final with conceptual questions. Homework assignments were not strictly difficult in terms of the insight required, but did take a lot of time to complete. My lecture notes from the course can be found here.
  • Difficulty Rating: 5/5 - A famously difficult subject to understand - I don’t think I reached the point of understanding, and look forwards to another stab in the future. That said, doing well in the course was not too difficult with effort.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - I felt as I didn’t walk away with the full appreciation I hoped I would have for the subject, but I chalk this up to a skill issue on my part. Still, an intriguing introduction to an intriguing subject!

CPSC 536W - Topics in Quantum Computation

  • Instructors: Daochen Wang
  • Textbook: Lecture Notes on Quantum Algorithms by Andrew Childs, Quantum Computation (lecture notes) by Richard Jozsa, Quantum Computation (lecture notes) by Ashley Montanaro.
  • Topics Covered: Quantum query complexity, Grover’s algorithm, Collision problems, Simon’s problem, Period finding, Factoring, Hidden Subgroup Problem, Amplitude amplification, Quantum walk, Quantum phase estimation, Adversary method, Divide and conquer, Hamiltonian simulation, Quantum signal processing.
  • Thoughts: I only audited this course but enjoyed it! The course gave a rigorous overview both of very established quantum algorithms as well as current research problems in the field, all from a computer science lens. I found it quite insightful as a primer on quantum algorithms research, which is slightly orthogonal to my own research in quantum information (as such at times I got a bit lost in the details).
  • Difficulty Rating: 4.5/5 - The material was very formal and at times research-level, and would be difficult to parse without a strong background in linear algebra and algorithms.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - Enjoyable and insightful!