Physics

This course provides individual research training for students in the Junior Year Engineering Program through the experience of belonging to a specific laboratory at Tohoku University. Students are assigned to a laboratory with the consent of the faculty member in charge. They participate in various group activities, including seminars, for the purposes of training in research methods and developing teamwork skills. The specific topic studied depends on the instructor in charge of the laboratory to which each student is assigned. The methods of assessment vary with the student's project and laboratory instructor. Students submit an abstract concerning the results of their individual research each semester and present the results near the end of this program.

This course examines advanced topics in equilibrium statistical physics. Topics include ensemble theory; theory of simple gases, ideal bose systems, ideal fermi systems; statistical mechanics of interacting systems; statistical field theory; and some topics in the theory of phase transition may be selected.

This course investigates the history of science since its birth, from the time of Galileo through the discovery of the special theory of relativity by Albert Einstein. The course focuses on how revolutionary transitions in human history always stem from scientific observations of natural phenomena followed by the leading escape from scientific absurdity by physicists like Galileo, Newton, and Einstein. 

No course prerequisites are required, and this course is open to non-science majors. 

The course consists of a research project in physics that involves the compilation of research findings, as well as processing information and data. Some projects involve independent practical research and/or numerical or theoretical calculations in a chosen topic. Individual supervision is provided by faculty member based upon an agreement with the student. The type of supervision and frequency of supervision depends on the project and its stage, and the supervisor supports the project and provides feedback during the final stage. Graded on a P/NP basis only.

The course starts with an introduction to the basic mathematical tools needed: tensors (in particular the metric tensor), index notation, and coordinate transformations. Special relativity is introduced, and a basic overview of general relativity is given. The linearized Einstein equations are discussed, and their physical degrees of freedom are identified; it is shown how this leads to a wave equation and hence gravitational waves. The basic properties of gravitational waves are studied: what polarizations they have, how they interact with matter, and the energy they carry. Next quadrupole formula, which describes how gravitational waves are generated by the motion of masses, is reviewed. An important example is the gravitational radiation emitted by two compact objects (neutron stars and/or black holes) that orbit each other, and spiral towards each other until they merge together. The course discusses how these, and other gravitational wave signals are detected with interferometers such as LIGO and Virgo, including the basics of gravitational wave data analysis: how to identify and study weak signals in noisy detector data. Finally, lectures make a connection with discoveries made by LIGO and Virgo in the past few years, and their impact on fundamental physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. The course ends with a discussion of future gravitational wave observatories such as the underground Einstein Telescope and the space-based LISA, together with the scientific output that can be expected from these.

This course examines the development of modern physical optics, with particular attention to the physical properties and applications of light in the advanced undergraduate level. It covers wave theory of electromagnetic radiations and light; geometric optics; the propagation and superposition of light waves; interference, diffraction and coherence of light; fourier optics; and some topics of modern optics.

This course provides the technical expertise on various thermal and power cycle technologies as well as the tools needed to assess and evaluate various optimized solutions. The course builds upon previous knowledge in thermodynamics theory and cycle analysis.

This course provides an introduction to astronomy, from the earliest theories through to the most current scientific knowledge of the universe. Topics include the solar system, extrasolar planets, the sun, stars and their evolution, black holes, gravitational waves and the Big Bang. There is an emphasis on the role of space-based technology in our understanding of the formation and evolution of the universe and its contents. This course is not highly mathematical or quantitative and is probably not appealing to students seeking a rigorous mathematical introduction to the subject.

The Individual Research Training Senior (IRT Senior) Course is an advanced course of the Individual Research Training A (IRT A) course in the Tohoku University Junior Year Program in English (JYPE) in the fall semester. Though short-term international exchange students are not degree candidates at Tohoku University, a similar experience is offered by special arrangement. Students are required to submit: an abstract concerning the results of their IRT Senior project, a paper (A4, 20-30 pages) on their research at the end of the exchange term, and an oral presentation on the results of their IRT Senior project near the end of the term.