M.Sc. in Physics

Overview

The importance given to fundamental sciences and mathematics areas has come into prominence should we analyze the most advanced and prosperous countries of the world in terms of technology. The education starting with the encouragement towards those areas during primary school years continues with the importance those countries give to graduate and Ph.D. programs. Besides, as is known to all, those leading countries in technology and engineering have been granted nearly all of the Nobel Prizes in Physics. Deficiency of qualified work force at graduate level in related area in Turkey manifests itself clearly at the sectors manufacturing high – tech industrial products, at which we especially desire to produce more. This issue has been frequently raised by many civil and governmental institutions, as well. In addition, qualified work force at this area is of vital importance regarding both doing qualified researches at international level and Turkey’s reputability. Concerning the international rankings, our success at this area has nearly been a prime concern for a country of this size. Physics education has an inclusive structure by its very nature. In the most general sense, it involves not only modelling the universe in different sub-scales, but also finding, solving and understanding complicated problems in this area. Problem solving skill gained here could easily be adapted to numerous problems in other disciplines and could simplify and / or enrich the problems from a different standpoint. A graduate with Physics degree has been a preffered work force in many fields, making significant contribution. It is possible to frequently see the leading international companies in finance, insurance, banking, data science, big data and such fields advertising for graduates with M.Sc. or Ph.D. degree in Physics. We strongly believe that our prospective graduates, if not preferential, will also have significant contribution to those areas. Under the light of our education and research targets, another important reason for us to offer this program is to come up with interdisciplinary thesis subjects in high - tech area, using extreme points in science, in cooperation with our reputable undergraduate and graduate levels engineering programs in our Faculty and Institute which position itself as a research-oriented-engineering faculty. Offering a Ph.D. program in Physics is also among our targets upon the start of successful graduates in this program.

Graduation Requirements for M.Sc. in Physics (Thesis)

Lesson Plan

Required Courses

PHYS 501 Classical Dynamics

Classical mechanics is the study of the motion of objects obeying Newton’s laws of motion. This course aims to introduce students to the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of Newtonian mechanics. On the other hand, Einstein’s special theory of relativity revises the Galilean relativity between two inertial frames. Fundamentals of special relativity and the associated 4-vector formalism are also be discussed in this course.

PHYS 511 Electrodynamics

This course begins with electrostatic and magnetostatic, then time-dependent fields and Maxwell's equations, the multipolar expansion of the radiation field, the interaction of radiation with matter, interference and diffraction, waveguides and cavities are covered, and the course ends with the subject of relativistic electromagnetics.

PHYS 521 Quantum Mechanics I

This course provides an introduction to Quantum Mechanics. Giving some fundamental concepts on Operators, Representations and Wave Functions, it focuses on Quantum Dynamics with Schrödinger Equation, Harmonic Oscillator and Path Integrals. Then, it discusses Theory of Angular Momentum and Symmetries in Quantum Mechanics.

PHYS 693 M.Sc. Thesis Study I in Physics

PHYS 694 M.Sc. Thesis Study II in Physics

PHYS 695 M.Sc. Thesis Study III in Physics

GSE 680 Graduate Study and Seminars for Research, Innovation and Ethics

Topics include research and innovation methods, research and publication ethics and integrity, research dissemination methods (publications, presentations) and, social, environmental and economic impact of research and legal issues (IPR).

Elective Courses

Students are required to take at least 4 courses from the below mentioned pool. If students want to take a course outside this pool, they apply to the Institute Executive Board and can take the course approved by the Institute Executive Board and count it as an elective course.

PHYS 522: Quantum Mechanics II

This course complements the introduction to Quantum Mechanics. Starting with some approximation methods such as Perturbation Theory and Variational Methods it focuses on Scattering Theory of particles. Various scattering modes are discussed.

PHYS 531: Quantum Field Theory

This course gives an introduction to quantum field theory. After a review of symmetries and fields, the course covers the Klein-Gordon equation, Dirac equation, interacting fields, Feynman diagrams and an application to elementary processes in Quantum Electrodynamics. The radiative corrections and the basics of renormalization are discussed.

PHYS 532: Particle Physics

This course gives an introduction to phenomenological and experimental foundations of particle physics. After a review of relativistic quantum mechanics and symmetries, the course covers quantum electrodynamics and weak interactions with electroweak unification.

PHYS 541: Statistical Mechanics

This course will focus on the classical laws of thermodynamics and its applications. Then, the foundations of statistical mechanics, statistical interpretation of thermodynamics, concepts of microcanonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles will be discussed. In addition, Bose-Einstein, Fermi-Dirac and photon gas statistics will be studied.

PHYS 543: Data Analysis in High Energy Physics

This course covers the statistical data analysis methods needed in high energy physics. The basic methods for inferring results from data will be presented. Also, more advanced tasks such as improving the signal-to-background ratio, correcting detector effects, determining systematics will be discussed in the scope of this course with concrete programming exercises.

PHYS 544: Machine Learning Applications in Physics

With the development of processor technology and its spread to the masses, the use of artificial intelligence artificial learning in different fields has become widespread. In this course, after briefly mentioning the basics of artificial learning, its applications and applications in different branches of physics will be discussed. Finally, we will talk about a relatively new and successful technique, deep learning.

PHYS 551: General Relativity

This course is planned to introduce the fundamental concepts of general relativity to graduate students in physics. After a brief review of special relativity, the basic concepts of Riemanian geometry such as the metric tensor, covariant derivative, and curvature will be introduced. The exact solutions of Einstein’s equations including the cosmological models and black holes will be thoroughly investigated. The causal structure of Lorentzian manifolds will be studied. Possible modifications of general relativity will be discussed.

PHYS 552: Differential Geometry and Topology in Physics

This course intends to equip the graduate students in physics with the knowledge of the fundamental concepts in differential geometry and topology that will be required in conducting research. First the concept of topological manifolds will be introduced and connectedness, compactness, homotopy and the fundamental group will be studied. The concepts of smooth manifolds, differential forms, exterior derivative, curvature, and Lie derivative will be covered. Each concept will be presented with relevant applications in physics.