Syllabus
* Atomic structure of matter.
Evolution of the atomic theory, indirect evidence from chemistry and crystallography; diffraction and microscopic methods, STM. Observation of atoms, molecules, surfaces and volume of matter, x-ray diffraction, relation of observations in real and reciprocal space.
* Particle and wave character of electrons and atoms.
Electron as a particle, its observation, the applications of an electron beam; wave properties of electrons, de Broglie waves, dualism of the particle and wave character, electron diffraction; wave properties of large particles; double-slit experiment.
* Structure of molecules and solids.
The structure and the symmetry of small molecules, its observation in gases, solutions and crystals; geometry and topology of solids (the symmetry of ideal crystals, quasi-crystals, amorphous materials, glasses), real crystals, relation between crystal structure and physical properties.
* Dynamics of nuclei in many-atom systems. quantum description of many-atom systems; adiabatic approximation - separation of the motion of the electrons and the nuclei, vibrational and rotational degrees of freedom of the molecules, symmetry, IR spectroscopy of molecules and extended systems, lattice vibrations in crystals, phonons and their observation by neutron scattering, the Einstein and Debye specific heat theories.
* The electronic structure of atoms.
Nucleus and electrons; Rutherford scattering, one-electron approximation, effective Schrodinger equation for electrons, quantum description of energy and momentum, spin and Pauli principle; walk through the periodic system and its interpretation, atomic spectroscopy, Bohr's model of hydrogen, hydrogen-like ions.
* Electronic structure of many atom systems.
One-electron approximation - molecular orbital; two-atomic molecules by the LCAO method, main types of the chemical bonds, orbital hybridization.
* Electrons in metals and semiconductors.
Free and nearly free electron approximation; heat capacity contribution of conduction electrons; band structures in crystalline materials
Annotation
Atomic structure of matter, examples of structure of molecules and solids, relation of observations in real and reciprocal space, particle character and wave character of electrons and particles (atoms, molecules), atomic vibrations in many atom systems, electronic structure of atoms, electronic structure many atom systems, electrons in metals and semiconductors.