General Physics (PhysGen)

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This course aims at providing basic notions in astronomy and astrophysics, which will be useful in the other astrophysics courses of the master. It is also an illustration of the application of the concepts of physics for the description of astrophysical objects. Most of the concepts discussed will be further developed in the^2nd year courses.

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Fluids are all around us all the time at all scales. To understand fluid mechanics is to understand the mechanics of what surrounds us: air and water in particular. As such, hydrodynamics is part of the physicist's basic knowledge.

The UE Hydrodynamics is an introduction to incompressible perfect (Euler) and viscous Newtonian (Navier-Stokes) fluid mechanics. The classical flows are presented, as well as the notion of boundary layer, instability and turbulence. Emphasis is placed more on physical ideas than on advanced mathematical or numerical resolution methods.

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English tutorials for students in the Master 1 Physics program who are aiming for professional autonomy in scientific English.

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This teaching is part of the foundation of modern physics. It provides a foundation of knowledge that is strictly necessary for all courses in physics since it lays the foundation for the theoretical description of the interaction between the electromagnetic field and elementary quantum elements such as two-level systems, atoms and molecules. It also provides the necessary teaching for the understanding of LASER, modern optical devices, and spectroscopic methods and analyses.

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This module aims to allow students to confront the experimental reality with their theoretical knowledge. Particular attention is paid to the writing of results and their presentation in the form of oral communication. The work is organized in eight-hour sessions for which a theme is chosen by the students. They record their results and analyses in an experimental notebook based on the model of the protocols used in laboratories. At the end of the semester, the student chooses a theme, which he develops in the form of a final report that he presents orally. This teaching is a preparation for the internships carried out by the students during their studies.

Examples of experiments available: optical spectroscopy (IR, Visible), gamma, X-ray, acoustic; low temperature photoluminescence; near field spectroscopy (AFM, STM); electron microscopy...

The panel of experiments proposed covers the fields of physics taught in the different Physics courses. The student has to choose among the different experiments those which seem to him the closest to his interests. An important effort is made to integrate the new technologies of data acquisition and the use of computer tools in order to compare experiment and theory.

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Through two particular examples (X-ray diffraction and vibrations), this module shows in detail how to model the physical properties of a solid. The formalism will also be applied to finite systems, such as nanoparticles, and will remain valid for amorphous materials, but special attention will be given to periodic systems (from linear chains to protein crystals, including graphene and silicon). Associated to this periodicity will naturally appear the notion of reciprocal network.

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This course aims at introducing and developing several fundamental concepts and tools of non-relativistic quantum physics necessary to understand the physical processes describing the interactions between the elementary constituents of matter and radiation. The second quantization and the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics will also be discussed as they represent the ideal framework for the development of quantum field theory and its various applications (e.g. high energy physics, condensed matter physics).

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Introduction to advanced statistical physics: grand canonical set; quantum statistics; quantum fluids (Bose-Einstein condensation, thermal radiation; Sommerfeld theory); phase transitions; Ising model; mean field theory; dynamics of complex systems.

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The course "Condensed Matter Physics 2: Electronic Properties" is intended for students interested in solid state physics.

In the continuity of the course "Condensed Matter Physics 1: structural properties" this course deals with the properties of electrons in crystalline solids, the band structure of electronic levels and the basic concepts of semiconductor physics.

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• Pedagogical approach

Students train by performing experimental tests under competition conditions to reinvest experimental knowledge and skills and develop effective communication.

• Main contents of the training

The topics covered are directly extracted from the list of physics assemblies in the current CAPES physics and chemistry admission exams (list published each year in the Bulletin Officiel de l'Education Nationale).

• The place of digital technology

Acquisition (with computer interface) of physical data from an experiment (Orphy_Lab and Orphi_GTI cards, Caliens camera).

- Analysis of a physics problem (mechanics, electricity, thermodynamics, waves, electromagnetism, wave optics) using a data processing software (Regressi).

- Elementary practice of coding and algorithmic using the Python language (possibility of using offline editors e.g. EduPython or online e.g. Jupyter). Display and exploitation of experimental data.

Application to the solution of simple differential equations in physics.

• Link with other EUs

This module and its beginning in semester 3 reinvest the contents approached in the first year in the UE "Teaching physics".

The students also use teaching situations encountered during the internship as well as the content covered in the UE "Didactic and pedagogical support of the internship" (S1, S2, S3 and S4) and "Didactics, Epistemology and History of Science" (S2).

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