Inspiring... Life of Martinus Veltman

Couldn't resist posting this.... Any would be theoretical physicist should read this autobiography of Martinus Veltman ...


http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1999/veltman-bio.html

Getting Closer with Ed witten

An interesting and inspiring video about the modern genius of the physics world.

Take a look at it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsyF2BAHg2o

Enjoy it !

Prof. Duff answers the critics of string theory.

Hi Freinds,
I can't resist posting this. Prof. Micheal Duff (Imperial College)  recently published an article for layman in which he is responding to the critics of string theory.

See the article : String and M-theory: answering the critics.
Regards

How to learn String Theory ? - II

In the last article I mentioned about  some of the essential mathematics required for a clean understanding of theoretical physics. Now we can go to the second level, that is to say the topics which are very much essential if you are going to be a serious student of theoretical physics.

Complex Analysis and Special Functions

As you may be knowing this complex analysis is one of the corner stones of quantum mechanics along with linear algebra. So learn it well and do try to solve as much problems as possible.

Topics : Contour Integration, Cauchy's Formula, Residue Theorem, Geometry with complex algebra, Laurent series, Conformal mapping, Branch Cuts, Multi-valued Functions, Analytic continuation, Zeta function, Gamma Function, Euler's integrals, Spherical Harmonics, Bessel Functions, Hypergeometric Polynomials.

1. George Polya; Complex Variables
    Nice Presentation with full of insights.

2. V.I. Smirnov; A Course in Higher Mathematics (Vol. 3 part 2)
     The best one I have seen.

3. Complex Variables; Mark J. Ablowitz

Mathematical Methods

Some books which will help you solve mathematics problem.

1. Riley & Hobson; Mathematical methods for Physics and Engineering
2. R. Shankar; Basic training in mathematics

Advanced Mathematics

This will become your toolkit when you attack real physical problems. Try to make the concepts in your mind as concrete as possible ( That will help!).

Topics : Topology, Differential Geometry, Integral Equations, Green Functions, Algebraic Topology, Fucntional Integrals.

1. Nakahara; Geometry, Topology and Physics

2. C. Nash & S. Sen; Topology and Geometry for Physicists

3. R. Courant & D. Hilbert; Methods of mathematical physics (Vol. 1 & 2)
    Good treatment of variational calculus and integral equations.

Now to the Physics Part ...

Classical Mechanics

1. Landau & Lifshitz; Mechanics

2. V.I. Arnold; Mathematical Methods of Classical Mechanics

Electrodynamics

1. Jackson; Electrodynamics

2. Greiner, Classical Electrodynamics

Quantum Mechanics

1. Dirac; Principles of QM

2. Sakurai; Modern QM

3. Weinberg; Lectures on QM

Statistical Mechanics

1. Reif; Statistical Physics, Berkeley Series
    Good intro. for Classical Statistical Mechanics

2. Greiner; Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics

3. Landau & Lifshitz; Statistical Physics

4. D. Tong; Statistical physics (Lecture notes)

Relativity

1. Landau; Classical Theory of Fields (Must Read)

2. J. Schwarz & P. Schwarz; Special Relativity: From Einstein to Strings
    Gives a comprehensible introduction to formal mathematics along with many wonder insights into the subject.

3. Weinberg; Gravitation & Cosmology

Online Resources

1. Dr. Tong's website contains many lecture notes presented in a pedagogical manner.
2. Walter Lewin Channel
3. Lecture Video Courses of Perimeter Institute (Note: One may access previous year's videos from the same site.)
4. Video courses of ICTP

Next time I will write about learning QFT .

Good luck.

How to learn string theory ?

Hi Friends,

This would be my first scribbling on this site. My wish is to provide some assistance to those who want to learn string theory. Since I have been in this situation in the past, I think I can offer some advice from my humble experiences.
Before proceeding I wish to make some remarks:
1. Whenever you learn a topic in theoretical physics, especially if it is in those frontier areas, try to learn first the computational techniques for its own sake. Once you have done with this (or parallely alongside the process), read about the original papers on the topics which will give you not only the context of the calculations but some physical insights into the subject.
2. There are usually two extreme class of learners. Of which first needs everything to be mathematically rigorous and can accept abstract things even without supply of physical examples. Latter class needs always some physical explanation to accept an idea and are not keen on being mathematically rigor.  My presentation here will be intermediate between these two.
3. Never rush through any of fundamentals while starting as a beginner. Always take your time to allow the concept or the idea to settle down. Try to apply the newly learned concept to known examples or even better to your own created examples to obtain different perspective on them.

I will divide my article into a series of articles dealing with separate topics.

• Learn the Math First

It is always better to master the necessary math before jumping into sea of subject. It's easier to lose your way, especially if it is a newer one, with out the necessary navigational tools. On your first reading trying to master math along with physics will block understanding of either and will lead you to a confused state of mind. Once you have mastered the math, learning physics will be relatively plus you get the advantage of understanding the math at a physical level.Note : I assume that you have just passed High school, so that I can include a broad class of people. If you are at a higher level just ignore whatever you know and proceed from your level (or better can provide some comments or advice on any improvements).

I will provide you with some list of books I found useful on these topics.


Calculus & Differential Equations

1. Piskunov ; Differential and Integral calculus.( 2 Volumes)
    Covers differential and integral calculus along with some vector calculus and  probability theory. Good to learn how to do calculations without losing the grasp on theory. 
(It went out of print after MIR publishers went down, but some regional publishers have made them available in market.)

2. V. I. Smirnov: A course on Higher mathematics ( Volume 1 and 2 )

A typical Russian classic written by a renowned mathematician imparting all his wealth of knowledge and skill into these books . A must read.

3. R. Courant; Differential and Integral Calculus (Volume 1 and 2).

A German Classic. Both selection and presentation of topics are excellent.  (This doesn't cover any differential equations)

4. I.G. Petrovsky; Lectures on Partial Differential Equations
Another Russian Classic.

  Although all these books are very old, they present the subject in the clean and complete manner. So once you worked out through any of these, you may never have to look back. Regarding the selection of books, you can browse through these and select the one which suits your temperament and this applies to the rest of subjects also.

Linear Algebra and Group Theory

1. V. I. Smirnov: A course on Higher mathematics ( Volume 3, Part 1)  (Recommended)

    (Republished by Dover books under the title :  Linear Algebra and Group Theory)

    Excellent algebraic exposition on the topic. A must read.

2. Halmos; Finite Dimensional Vector space (Recommended)

   Superb book written in an excellent manner by a brilliant teacher and mathematician.

3. A.P. Balachandran, S G Jo & G Marmo ; Group Theory and Hopf Algebra: Lectures for Physicists

   Wonderful book aimed at young theoretical physicist with many explicit examples.  

There is as set of lecture video based on this book by A.P. Balachandran who has a reputation of good teacher. Interestingly, many of his students went to make their own marks in the subject, especially Pierre Ramond to name one.

Here is the link : Course on Group Theory and Hopf Algebra.

I don't want to make the article very lengthy. I will continue the rest of the article in the next series.Hope you enjoy learning physics !