Courses

This course will study the classical field theories used in electromagnetism, fluid dynamics, plasma physics, and elastic solid dynamics. General field theoretic concepts will be discussed, including the action, symmetries, conservation laws, and dissipation. In addition, classical field equations will be analyzed from the viewpoint of macroscopic averaging and small-parameter expansions of the fundamental microscopic dynamics. The course will also investigate the production and propagation of linear and nonlinear waves; with topics including linearized small-amplitude waves, ordinary and extraordinary waves, waves in a plasma, surface waves, nonlinear optics, wave-wave mixing, solitons, shock waves, and turbulence.