Solid state physics

Although there are many books published in solid state physics, there is a wide gap between the active field of research and the concepts traditionally taught in solid state courses. This book fills that gap. The style is tutorial, simple, and completely self-contained. Solid State Physicsexplains to readers the newest advances in the area of condensed matter physics with rigorous, but lucid mathematics. Examples are an integral part of the text, and they are carefully designed to apply the fundamental principles illustrated in the text to currently active topics of research. Key Features * Bridges the gap between fundamental principles and active fields of reserch, including explanations of all the latest advances * Provides an in-depth treatment of current research topics * Examples are integral to the text and apply fundamental principles to current topics of research * Both authors have many years of experience of teaching at a variety of levels--undergraduate, post-graduate, tutorial workshops and seminars

Although there are many books published in solid state physics, there is a wide gap between the active field of research and the concepts traditionally taught in solid state courses. This book fills that gap. The style is tutorial, simple, and completely self-contained. Solid State Physicsexplains to readers the newest advances in the area of condensed matter physics with rigorous, but lucid mathematics. Examples are an integral part of the text, and they are carefully designed to apply the fundamental principles illustrated in the text to currently active topics of research. Key Features * Bridges the gap between fundamental principles and active fields of research, including explanations of all the latest advances * Provides an in-depth treatment of current research topics * Examples are integral to the text and apply fundamental principles to current topics of research * Both authors have many years of experience of teaching at a variety of levels--undergraduate, post-graduate, tutorial workshops and seminars

Includes bibliographical references and index

2 Plasmon excitations in crystals.

Front Cover; Solid State Physics; Copyright Page; Contents; Preface; Chapter I. Electrons in one-dimensional periodic potentials; 1 The Bloch theorem for one-dimensional periodicity; 2 Energy levels in a periodic array of quantum wells; 3 Electron tunneling and energy bands; 4 The tight-binding approximation; 5 Plane waves and nearly free-electron approximation; 6 Some dynamical aspects of electrons in band theory; Further reading; Chapter II. Geometrical description of crystals: direct and reciprocal lattices; 1 Simple lattices and composite lattices.

2 Geometrical description of some crystal structures3 Wigner-Seitz primitive cells; 4 Reciprocal lattices; 5 Brillouin zones; 6 Translational symmetry and quantum mechanical aspects; 7 Density-of-states and critical points; Further reading; Chapter III. The Sommerfeld free-electron theory of metals; 1 Quantum theory of the free-electron gas; 2 Fermi-Dirac distribution function and chemical potential; 3 Electronic specific heat in metals and thermodynamic functions; 4 Thermionic emission from metals; Appendix A. Outline of statistical physics and thermodynamic relations.

A1. Microcanonical ensemble and thermodynamic quantitiesA2. C…