PHYS 515 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Schedule
Lectures will take place on Mondays from 17:00pm - 18:20pm
and on Wednesdays from 17:10pm - 18:30pm (after the Physics colloquium)
in 162 Noyes Laboratory.
Recordings of the lectures will be posted on mediaspace.
Homework sets will be made available on Wednesdays before the lecture, starting in week 2, on this website.
They are due on the following Wednesday before 11:55pm Central US and they have to be submitted via my.physics.
In general, you are allowed to use computer algebra software, like Maple or Mathematica, unless stated otherwise. If you do use computer algebra software, together with your PDF solution, you must provide a well-formatted print out of your code. Under no circumstances are you allowed to use a computer algebra package, such as grTensor or xTensor, to calculate tensorial quantities.
During the Lecture you will engage with the material by answering conceptual questions via Gradescope, Entry code: K3X8X8. This will give you bonus points for the course.
If you have any issues logging in to view any of the secured documents below, please try adding "uofi\" (without the quotes) in front of your netid.
For details on semester dates, registration deadlines, etc. please check the Academic calendar.
| Week | Date | Lecture | Homework |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mo 01/16/2023 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day no classes | |
| We 01/18/2023 | Introduction to class L1. Special Relativity |
||
| 2 | Mo 01/23/2023 | L2. Special relativity | |
| We 01/25/2023 | L3. Lorentz transformations | HW 1 assigned
HW 1 solution |
|
| 3 | Mo 01/30/2023 | L4. Vectors | |
| We 02/01/2023 | L5. 1-forms and Tensors | HW 1 due HW 2 assigned
HW 2 solution |
|
| 4 | Mo 02/06/2023 | L6. Tensors Physics in flat spacetimes |
|
| We 02/08/2023 | L7. Physics in flat spacetimes notes |
HW 2 due HW 3 assigned
HW 3 solution |
|
| 5 | Mo 02/13/2023 | L8. Manifolds | |
| We 02/15/2023 | L9.Manifolds | HW 3 due (extended by 1 day) HW 4 assigned
HW 4 solution |
|
| 6 | Mo 02/20/2023 | L10. Tensors in curved spacetimes | |
| We 02/22/2023 | L11. Tensors in curved spacetimes | HW 4 due HW 5 assigned
HW 5 solution |
|
| 7 | Mo 02/27/2023 | L12. Covariant derivatives | |
| We 03/01/2023 | L13. Geodesics | HW 5 due No homework assigned Paper review instructions |
|
| 8 | Mo 03/06/2023 | L14. Riemann curvature | |
| We 03/08/2023 | L15. Symmetries | Paper review due No homework due HW 6 assigned HW 6 solution |
|
| 9 | 03/11/2023 -- 03/19/2023 | Spring Break | |
| 10 | Mo 03/20/2023 | L16. Gravitation | |
| We 03/22/2023 | L17. Einstein's Equations | HW 6 due HW 7 assigned
HW 7 solution |
|
| 11 | Mo 03/27/2023 | L18. Lagrangian formulation | |
| We 03/29/2023 | L19. Properties of Einstein's Equations | HW 7 due HW 8 assigned
HW 8 solution |
|
| 12 | Mo 04/03/2023 | L20. The Schwarzschild metric | |
| We 04/05/2023 | L21. Geodesics of the Schwarzschild metric | HW 8 due HW 9 assigned
HW 9 solution |
|
| 13 | Mo 04/10/2023 | L22. Black holes | |
| We 04/12/2023 | L23. Black holes | HW 9 due HW 10 + 11 assigned
HW 10 +11 solution |
|
| 14 | Mo 04/17/2023 | APS April Meeting | |
| We 04/19/2023 | L24. Neutron stars | no homework due this week | |
| 15 | Mo 04/24/2023 | L25. Gravitational Waves | |
| We 04/26/2023 | L26. Gravitational waves | HW 10 + 11 due Note: Long homework!
HW 12 assigned
HW 12 solution |
|
| 16 | Mo 05/01/2023 | L27. Cosmology | |
| We 05/03/2023 | L28. Cosmology | HW 12 due | |
| Th 05/04/2023 | Reading Day | ||
| Fr 05/05/2023 -- Mo 05/08/2023 | Final Exam | ||