MATHEMATICAL METHODS AND CLASSICAL MECHANICS B
WINTER 2002 - COURSE OUTLINE FOR PHY-3608

http://www.atsweb.neu.edu/physics/t.taylor/3608.html

Professor Tomasz Taylor

Office: 208 DANA E-mail: taylor@neu.edu Telephone: 617-373-2979

Office Hours: Tuesdays from 4:00 to 5:00 PM and Thursdays from 2:00 to 3:00 PM

Textbooks:  1) "Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics" by F.W. Byron and R.W. Fuller (Two volumes bound as one in a paperback edition by Dover Publications, 10 copies will be available for sale in the Department office) referred to below as "BF"; 2) "Classical Dynamics" by J.V. Jose and E.J. Saletan (Cambridge University Press, available in NU bookstore), referred to below as "JS". Other useful, but not required, textbooks include J. Matthews and R. Walker, "Mathematical Methods of Physics" (Addison Wesley), G. Arfken, "Mathematical Methods for Physicists" (Academic Press), H. Goldstein, C. Poole and J. Safko, "Classical Mechanics" (third edition, Addison Wesley), L.D. Landau and E.M. Lifshitz, Mechanics (third edition).

Topics to be covered:
Chapter BF3: Vectors and Matrices
Chapter BF4: Vector Spaces in Physics
Chapter BF5: Hilbert Space
Chapter BF7: Green's Functions
Chapter JS1: Fundamentals of Mechanics
Chapter JS2: Lagrangian Formulation of Mechanics
Chapter JS3: Topics in Lagrangian Mechanics

Grade:  Homework - 30 %, Midterm (February 7) - 30 %, Final (March 11) - 40 %. Homework problem assignments will be posted on the course website on Wednesdays and will be collected in class on Tuesdays of the following week at 5:20 PM.
No homework will be accepted late.