If you are someone who loves everything about physics and are looking forward to pursuing your post graduation in this subject, then you might often wonder about the msc physics syllabus. As we all know, physics is indeed a very complex subject and it is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. On the other hand, there could be several students out there who genuinely love this subject, and find it very interesting as well. Hence, they might choose to do their graduation in this particular subject, after the completion of their school education. As we all know, there are a number of reputed colleges that offer BSc in physics. The duration of this course is three years and thereafter, you can either choose to continue with your studies, or else you can also opt for any job of your choice. If you want to continue your education, then you can go for an MSc in Physics and it will take you two years to complete it. But, choosing whether to continue studies, or opt for a job is entirely up to the students. In fact, it is appropriate to say that this is a very vital decision and should be given due importance. This will help you in making a good choice that you won't regret later. Going through the syllabus of the MSc Physics course is indeed very important, and it will give you a clear and concise idea regarding the amount of pressure that you will be dealing with in the next two years, if you opt to continue with your studies. So, let's take a look at the vital aspects of this syllabus.
Classical Mechanics part of msc physics syllabus
This section of the syllabus will include Lagrangian formulation, Hamiltonian formulation, mechanics of continuous media, theory of small oscillations, classical perturbation theory, nonlinear dynamics, canonical transformations, dynamics of a rigid body, Hamilton – Jacobi theory, and chaos.
Quantum Mechanics I and II
This can be regarded as the second section of this syllabus and it include postulates of quantum mechanics, symmetries, single particle formulation of non-relativistic quantum mechanics, principle of superposition, applications to physical systems, quantisation scheme and classical correspondence, path integral formulation of quantum mechanics: free particle and particle in a well, etc.
Mathematical Tools in Theoretical Physics I and II
This section of msc physics syllabus is quite brief and it consists of theory of complex variables, theory of linear ordinary differential equations, boundary value problems and Green’s function, integral transforms, special functions, and integral equations.
Classical Theory of fields I : Electrodynamics
This can be considered as a very elaborate section and it includes a number of interesting topics as well. Some of these topics are action principle formulation of relativistic particle, action formulation of EM fields: Maxwell equations, Electromagnetic (EM) fields: relativistic formulation, the vector potential: relativistic formulation, interaction of charged particle with EM fields: Lorentz force equations, interaction of EM fields with currents: Noether’s theorem, Vacuum EM waves: geometrical optics limit, polarization, energy momentum tensor: conservation and Poynting’s theorem, ambiguities, Stokes parameters and Poincare sphere, EM waves in media: Faraday rotation, EM potentials due to an arbitrarily moving charged particle, etc.
Classical Theory of fields II : General Relativity
This is an interesting section of msc physics syllabus, and it comprises of curvilinear coordinate systems in R3 : Euclidean metric, Invariance principles : Special Relativity and Gravity, Curved spacetime: geodesics, Newtonian approximation, Principle of Equivalence, Redshift: Pseudo-Newtonian derivation, Parallel transport and affine connection, covariant derivative, geodesics, invariants in curved spacetime – scalar, vector and tensor fields, p-form fields, metric tensor, etc.
Statistical Mechanics I and II
This portion of the syllabus include a wide variety of concepts such as microcanonical ensemble: Boltzmann’s definition of entropy and derivation of thermodynamics, Gibbs paradox, canonical ensemble, energy fluctuations in the canonical ensemble, the equipartition theorem, microcanonical ensemble calculations for a classical ideal gas, Brownian motion: Langevin and Fokker-Planck descriptions, concept of steady states, detailed balance and equilibrium vs. non-equilibrium, fluctuation-dissipation theorem, Markovian process, Master equation, etc
Particle Physics I & II
The section of particle physics covers the topics such as charge, mass, level scheme, excited states, spin, parity and isospin, constituents, binding energy and separation energy, nuclear size and form factors, static electromagnetic moments, two-nucleon system, relativistic kinematics: Mandelstamm variables, collision and decay kinematics, types of interactions and their relative strengths, discovery of positron, muon, pion, neutrino and other particles, classification of elementary particles, reaction thresholds, phase space, cross-section and decay formula, symmetry, conservation laws and quantum numbers, etc.
Condensed Matter Physics I
This section of the syllabus include amazing topics like crystal structure — lattice and basis, X Ray diffraction and crystal structure determination, examples of crystal structures, direct and reciprocal lattice, electrons in metals — Drude and Sommerfeld theories, specific heat of solids — Boltzmann, Einstein and Debye theories, etc.
Quantum Field Theory I & II of msc physics syllabus
The section of quantum field theory consists of relativistic quantum mechanics and the Dirac equation and its solutions, Dirac field, Wick’s Theorem, canonical quantisation: free scalar field, electromagnetic field, calculation techniques for Feynman diagrams of all major processes in QED, removal of divergences and divergences in Quantum Field Theory, etc.
Advanced General Relativity and Astrophysics
This section might amaze a lot of physics enthusiasts out there. It includes gravitational waves, linearized general relativity, energy radiated by gravitational waves, detection of gravitational waves, white dwarfs, astronomy basics, thermodynamics preliminaries, gravitational waves in linearised GR, degenerate electron gas, equations of state, Chandrasekhar limit, etc.
Cosmology
This part of the MSc syllabus deals with topics such as cosmological observations, spacetime geometry, comoving coordinates, proper distances, dynamics of a photon moving in FRW background, the expansion of the universe, Friedmann-Roberson-Walker (FRW) metric, , particle and event horizons, galaxy rotation curves, indirect evidence for dark-matter, discovery of accelerated expansion, dynamics of dark energy, cosmological constant, etc.
Conclusion
Here, we have provided a detailed overview regarding the msc physics syllabus. The syllabus is very vast and it include numerous topics such as Classical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics I and II, Mathematical Tools in Theoretical Physics I and II, Classical Theory of fields I : Electrodynamics, Classical Theory of fields II : General Relativity, Statistical Mechanics I and II, Particle Physics I & II, Condensed Matter Physics I, Quantum Field Theory I & II, Advanced General Relativity and Astrophysics, and lastly, Cosmology. The prospective students should keep in mind that this is a general syllabus, and there could be slight variations when it comes to certain universities.
