Condensed Matter Physics Books

[Tressa Sibel]

Thebest book for a beginner of condensed matter physics depends on the individual's background knowledge and learning style. Some popular options include "Introduction to Solid State Physics" by Charles Kittel, "Condensed Matter Physics" by Michael P. Marder, and "Solid State Physics" by Neil W. Ashcroft and N. David Mermin.

A good beginner book on condensed matter physics should cover basic concepts such as crystal structures, lattice vibrations, electronic band structure, and phase transitions. It should also introduce more advanced topics like topological materials, superconductivity, and magnetism.

Yes, there are many online resources available for learning condensed matter physics. Some popular ones include online lecture notes, video lectures, and interactive simulations. Websites like MIT OpenCourseWare and Khan Academy offer free courses on condensed matter physics.

Yes, a good beginner book on condensed matter physics can serve as a reference for more advanced studies. However, as the field is constantly evolving, it is recommended to also consult more specialized and up-to-date resources for advanced topics.

While a strong background in mathematics can be helpful in understanding the theoretical concepts of condensed matter physics, it is not necessary. Many beginner books on the subject provide clear explanations and examples, making it accessible to those with a basic understanding of mathematics.

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What are some good condensed matter physics books that can fill the gap between Ashcroft & Mermin and research papers? Suggestions for any specialized topics (such as superconductivity, CFT, topological insulators) are welcomed.

"Fundamentals of Condensed Matter Physics", Marvin L. Cohen & Steven G. Louie.

A much-needed textbook that gives credit both to the traditional view of the field and the modern view based on excitations. Thus, it is not only focused on many-body theory but serves as a first contact.

"Basic Aspects of the Quantum Theory of Solids: Order and excitations", Daniel I. Khomskii.

Fills the gap between the foundations and present-day solid state theory using as the main theme two concepts: order and excitations. Slick and more accessible than others. As stated in the preface the purpose of this book is attending exactly the needs of the OP.

"Modern Condensed Matter Physics", Steven M. Girvin and Kun Yang.

Covers material from the level of Ashcroft and Mermin up through Anderson localization, the quantum Hall effect, spin liquids, topological insulators, superconductivity, etc. Second quantization for fermions is avoided until about 3/4 of the way through the book in order to keep the level accessible to beginning students.

"Introduction to Many-Body Physics", P. Coleman.

An amazing treatise on introductory and not so introductory many-body physics applied to condensed matter theory. In addition it provides historical facts and uses plenty of figures to illustrate concepts and experimental results. More updated than others.

"Advanced Solid State Physics", Philip Phillips.

"For an up-to-date perspective on solid state physics from a many-body physics perspective, may I refer you to this book" by P. Coleman in Introduction to Many-Body Physics.

"Many-Particle Physics", G. D. Mahan.

A good introduction, it covers lots of topics although notation is a bit old-fashioned. Some chapters are not very good (skip the quantum Hall effect chapter!).

"Composite Fermions", J. K. Jain.

The first chapters are a good overview of quantum Hall effects. Also it is obviously biased towards Jain's theory of composite fermions (as its title reflects!) and so full of hand-waving arguments to try to justify it.

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The book by Mattuck is a friendly, carefuly, and labored exposition to many-body theory. Beginning with the ideas of a random walk, the impurity problem, the author describes "dressing" of charge (renormalization) in a background, and spends time introducing momentum space and the Fourier transform. Then Feynman diagrams are introduced first as tree graphs (the ladder diagram for the impurity problem), and the book teaches the organization of different kinds of graphs once loops are introduced. The concept of self-energy in both coordinate and momentum space are developed thereafter. Then the author switches gears to full-blown second quantized formalism with and without spin.

Many-body theory courses can often be the first time students are introduced to quantum field theory. As a graduate student in high-energy physics with background in condensed matter/solid state physics, I can say that high-energy versions of QFT courses do not usually focus on applications of QFT outside scattering cross-section calculations, and it is important (even for high-energy theorists in my opinion) to know what to do with QFT as a general tool. There aren't very many books on QFT which do not convert you completely into the high-energy or the cond-mat camp. That's why books like this one are useful in shaping your holistic understanding of QFT.

Personally, I found that after I was a bit unsure of what I studied something from Altland and Simons or Fetter and Walecka, I was clearer about it after reading the corresponding sections from Mattuck's book.

As for books on QFT in condensed matter physics, besides Altland, Field Theories of Condensed Matter Physics by Fradkin is also excellent. It covers a lot of cutting-edge topics, including entanglement entropy/spectrum.

In the past few years, however, there has been an excellent collection of books released under the Oxford Masters Series (OMS) umbrella. These books tend to be more pedagogical and conversational, shorter in length and necessarily more modern. They would be much more appropriately described as bedtime reading compared to the counterparts mentioned above. There are a few books from the OMS that I have read from cover to cover, and some where I have just read a few chapters. These include the following titles:

Most of us learn in solitude with a good textbook/paper rather than in the classroom, and textbooks like these make it easier to get up to speed. I think that condensed matter physics will have a greater appeal at the undergraduate level in the US and other English-speaking countries due to the clarity of the OMS textbooks. The authors of these books have done a service to our sub-field and I much appreciate their effort. Lastly, the philosophical perspective of condensed matter physics has changed somewhat since the days of Kittel and Ashcroft and Mermin, and our textbooks needed to reflect this overhaul. They can now claim to do this.

Please feel free to comment on and recommend books, articles or papers that you found particularly useful. I am curious to know what else is out there, even if not originally an English-language text.

I think Oxford solid state is better for undergrads. I also enjoyed QFT for amateurs. In fact, after reading a few chapters I realized that it is well beyond my expectations (i.e. a useful book not only for amateurs). Strongly recommended!

I do not have words to appreciate the Stephen Blundell Magnetism, and Statistical mechanics books.

Overall I do agree with you that the Oxford series is very consistent, all the authors have done a great service to society.

Over the years I and my friend has made a list of books which can be a good starting point for beginners( -with-me).

Physics of Condensed Matter is designed for a two-semester graduate course on condensed matter physics for students in physics and materials science. While the book offers fundamental ideas and topic areas of condensed matter physics, it also includes many recent topics of interest on which graduate students may choose to do further research. The text can also be used as a one-semester course for advanced undergraduate majors in physics, materials science, solid state chemistry, and electrical engineering, because it offers a breadth of topics applicable to these majors.

The book begins with a clear, coherent picture of simple models of solids and properties and progresses to more advanced properties and topics later in the book. It offers a comprehensive account of the modern topics in condensed matter physics by including introductory accounts of the areas of research in which intense research is underway. The book assumes a working knowledge of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, electricity and magnetism and Green's function formalism (for the second-semester curriculum).

Encyclopedia of Condensed Matter Physics, Second Edition, Five Volume Set is an authoritative and comprehensive expansion of the classic 2005 work, delivering over 300 brand new or fully updated articles focused on core theoretical discoveries and modern applications. Meticulously planned and structured into approximately 60 sections, the book allows the user to quickly gain a solid footing in the key theoretical aspects of quantum mechanics, mechanics, electrodynamics, relativity, statistical mechanics and the elementary particles that form the core physics background for the field. The work also presents useful coverage of experimental techniques, materials processing, and materials systems, as well as applied topics.

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