This undergraduate textbook merges traditional solid state physics with contemporary condensed matter physics, providing an up-to-date introduction to the major concepts that form the foundations of condensed materials. The main foundational principles are emphasized, providing students with the knowledge beginners in the field should understand. The book is structured in four parts and allows students to appreciate how the concepts in this broad area build upon each other to produce a cohesive whole as they work through the chapters. Illustrations work closely with the text to convey concepts and ideas visually, enhancing student understanding of difficult material, and end-of-chapter exercises varying in difficulty allow students to put into practice the theory they have covered in each chapter and reinforce new concepts.

Machine generated contents note: Part I. Structure: 1. Crystal structure; 2. Amorphous structure; 3. Bonds and cohesion; 4. Magnetic structure; Part II. Scattering: 5. Scattering theory; 6. Scattering by crystals; 7. Scattering by amorphous matter; 8. Self-similar structures and liquid crystals; Part III. Dynamics: 9. Liquid dynamics; 10. Crystal vibrations; 11. Thermal properties; 12. Electrons: the free electron model; 13. Electrons: band theory; 14. Bulk dynamics and response; Part IV. Transitions: 15. Introduction to phase transitions; 16. Percolation theory; 17. Mean field theory and renormalization; 18. Superconductivity; Appendices; Index.

Based on an established course and covering the fundamentals, central areas and contemporary topics of this diverse field, Fundamentals of Condensed Matter Physics is a much-needed textbook for graduate students. The book begins with an introduction to the modern conceptual models of a solid from the points of view of interacting atoms and elementary excitations. It then provides students with a thorough grounding in electronic structure and many-body interactions as a starting point to understand many properties of condensed matter systems - electronic, structural, vibrational, thermal, optical, transport, magnetic and superconducting - and methods to calculate them. Taking readers through the concepts and techniques, the text gives both theoretically and experimentally inclined students the knowledge needed for research and teaching careers in this field. It features 246 illustrations, 9 tables and 100 homework problems, as well as numerous worked examples, for students to test their understanding. Solutions to the problems for instructors are available at www.cambridge.org/cohenlouie.

Derived from lectures at the University of Freiburg, this textbook introduces solid-state physics as well as the physics of liquids, liquid crystals and polymers. The five chapters deal with the key characteristics of condensed matter: structures, susceptibilities, molecular fields, currents, and dynamics. The author strives to present and explain coherently the terms and concepts associated with the main properties and characteristics of condensed matter, while minimizing attention to extraneous details. As a result, this text provides the firm and broad basis of understanding that readers require for further study and research.

Now in paperback, this book provides an overview of the physics of condensed matter systems. Assuming a familiarity with the basics of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics, the book establishes a general framework for describing condensed phases of matter, based on symmetries and conservation laws. It explores the role of spatial dimensionality and microscopic interactions in determining the nature of phase transitions, as well as discussing the structure and properties of materials with different symmetries. Particular attention is given to critical phenomena and renormalization group methods. The properties of liquids, liquid crystals, quasicrystals, crystalline solids, magnetically ordered systems and amorphous solids are investigated in terms of their symmetry, generalised rigidity, hydrodynamics and topological defect structure. In addition to serving as a course text, this book is an essential reference for students and researchers in physics, applied physics, chemistry, materials science and engineering, who are interested in modern condensed matter physics.

The book is an introduction to quantum field theory applied to condensed matter physics. The topics cover modern applications in electron systems and electronic properties of mesoscopic systems and nanosystems. The textbook is developed for a graduate or advanced undergraduate course with exercises which aim at giving students the ability to confront real problems.