Solid state physics III
PHYS-419
Media
Exam: The questions and global organisation are available below. It will take place in CE 1 106.
QA: The Q&A will take place on Friday 9th from 10 to 12 in the room BSP727.
For those of you which cannot join physically, you can connect to the zoom meeting:
https://cnrs.zoom.us/j/99953977628?pwd=Zv6YWNanbBUgo3euX6mbDxTslnUCPZ.1
Lectures: The lectures will be take place on Wednesdays from 13:15 to 16:00 in room GRA332.
Exercises: The exercises will take place on Thursdays from 08:15 to 10:00 in room GRA332.
Annoucement: The week of October 6th, classes and exercises will be exchanged.
Outside the exercises, the students can use the Ed forum or directly contact the teaching assistants:
Pratyay Ghosh: pratyay.ghosh@epfl.ch
Achille Mauri: achille.mauri@epfl.ch
Chapters treated, week by week (updated regularly)
Wed 10.09.2025: Mila: Chapter 1, Section 2.1, App. 7.2 and 7.3
Wed 17.09.2025: Mila: Section 2.2, beginning of Chapter 3
Wed 24.09.2025: Mila: Sections 3.1, 3.2
Wed 01.10.2025: Mila: Section 3.3
Thu 09.10.2025: Mila: Section 3.4
Thu 09.10.2025: Mila: Section 3.4
Wed 15.10.2025: Mila: Section 3.5
Wed 29.10.2025: Mila: Section 4.1
Wed 05.11.2025: Mila: Section 4.2
Wed 12.11.2025: Mila: Section 4.3 (not finished)
Wed 19.11.2025: Mila: End of Section 4.3 and most of Chapter 5
Wed 26.11.2025: Mila: End of Chapter 5, 6.1.1
Wed 03.12.2025: Mila: Chapter 6 up to electrodynamics
Wed 10.12.2025: Mila: Chapter 6 stopping before Landau Ginzburg
Wed 17.12.2025: End of Mila!
Lecture notes
The other lecture notes are useful complements that we encourage you to read.
- Lecture notes "Solid State Physics III" by Prof. Frédéric Mila (File)
- Lecture notes "Solid State Theory" by Prof. Manfred Sigrist (File)
- Lecture notes "Introduction to the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect" by Prof. Steve Girvin (File)
Exercise series
Solid state physics III
The series will be posted on Wednesday before the exercise session, the correction will be posted the following Wednesday.
Your comments on the exercises and their corrections are most welcome, especially if you find some mistake/typo.
- Exercise 0 - Week 1 (File)
- Solution 0 - Week 1 (File)
- Exercise 1 - Week 2 (File)
- Solution 1 - Week 2 (File)
- Exercise 2 - Week 3 (File)
- Solution 2 - Week 3 (File)
- Exercise 3 - Week 4 (File)
- Solution 3 - Week 4 (File)
- Exercise 5 - Week 6 (File)
- Solution 5 - Week 6 (File)
- Exercise 6 - Week 7 (File)
- Solution 6 - Week 7 (File)
- Exercise 7 - Week 8 (File)
- Solution 7 - Week 8 (File)
- Exercise 8 - Week 9 (File)
- Solution 8 - Week 9 (File)
- Exercise 9 - Week 10 (File)
- Solution 9 - Week 10 (File)
- Exercise 10 - Week 11 (File)
- Solution 10 - Week 11 (File)
- Exercise 11 - Week 12 (File)
- Solution 11 - Week 12 (File)
- Exercise 12 - Week 13 (File)
- Solution 12 - Week 13 (File)
Homeworks 2025
Exercise series 2024
Solid state physics III
The series will be posted on Wednesday before the exercise session, the correction will be posted the following Wednesday.
Your comments on the exercises and their corrections are most welcome, especially if you find some mistake/typo.
Exam
The exam will take place on Thursday, January 26, 2023 from 9:15 to 12:15 in room CM1221.
No document will be allowed. We will provide paper and draft paper. Just bring pens or pencils and your student card.
Homeworks - 2024-2025
The homeworks given in 2024-2025.
- Homework 1 (File)
- Solution_homework1 (File)
- Solution HW2 (File)
- HW2_mathematic_notebook (File)
- Solution homework3 (File)
Exams - 2020-2022
- Exam 2019 (File)
- Solution exam 2019 (File)
- Exam 2020 (File)
- Solution exam 2020 (File)
- Exam 2022 (File)
- Solution exam 2022 (Folder)
Complements des notes de cours
Old plan by Andreas
Wed 11.09.2024: Introductory Slides; Mila: Section 1.2
Wed 18.09.2024: Sigrist: Section 1.5, 1.6, 1.7., 2.2 (without 2.2.3)
Wed 25.09.2024: Sigrist: Section 2.2 (without 2.2.3), 3.1
Wed 02.10.2024: Sigrist: Section 3.2.1., 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4
Wed 09.10.2024: Sigrist: Section 3.2.4, 4.1.
Wed 16.10.2024: Sigrist: Section 4.2 (overview level) ;Girvin FQH Lecture Notes, Section 1 and first part of Section 2
Wed 30.10.2024: Girvin FQH Lecture Notes Section 2.
Wed 6.11.2024: Mila: Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3
Wed 13.11.2024: Mila: Sections 4.4, 5.1, beginning of 5.2
Wed 20.11.2024: Mila: Sections 5.2, 5.3, (5.4)
Wed 27.11.2024: Mila: Sections 5.4, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
Wed 03.12.2024: Mila: Sections 2.4, 2.5, 2.6
Wed 11.12.2024: Mila: Spin Waves in antiferromagnets
Wed 18.12.2024: Mila: Frustrated Magnetism
Presentations
Groups, dates and subjects
1. Spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain via Bethe Ansatz - 01/11/2017
The spin-1/2 chain with ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic coupling, and the exact solution by Bethe ansatz.
2. J1-J2 model 2/11/16
2. Spin-1 chain and AKLT model (Nobel prize) - 8/11/17
Demonstrating the Haldane conjecture that the spin-1 chain (unlike the spin-1/2) has a valence bond solid ground state and gapped excitations. The AKLT Hamiltonian can be treated exactly using Schwinger bosons, and is adiabatically connected to the spin-1 Heisenberg model.
3. Spin Ice - 14/11/2017
This presentation will take place on Tuesday morning at the time of the lecture.
4. de Haas-van Alphen - 15/11/17
The de Haas-van Alphen and related effects, and how they can be used to measure the Fermi surface of metals.
5. Hofstadter butterfly - 29/11/2017
6. Integer QHE in graphene - 6/12/2017
7. Unconventional superconductivity - 20/12/2017
Présentation II (2009) : papillon de Hofstadter