The Physics of Waves

Waves are the most widely occurring of all physical phenomena. They range in scale from the cosmic to the quantal. They are seen in spiral galaxies, in oceans and in atmospheres. Electromagnetic waves fill space and are the foundation of modern technological civilization. At the most fundamental level quantum wave fields constitute the fabric of the universe from which particles emerge.

This course is intended as a general introduction to postgraduate students in any branch of physics and aims to provide a grounding in the most important aspects of wave phenomena in the physical universe. This includes the dispersion properties of linear waves and how they propagate, the effects of inhomogenous media, and how to deal with localized and time dependent excitation processes. Finally, the basic elements of wave-wave interactions and the origin of quantum fields are introduced.

Contents :

1. Dispersion Relations of Linear Wave Modes
2. Wave Propagation : Phase, group and energy velocities
3. Wave Kinetics : Packets, Groups and Trains
4. Excitation : Sources and Green Functions
5. Introduction to interacting wave fields and the origin of QFT
   

Timetable