Self-Study After Degree: Physics Exploration Tips

[Master J]

I was a bit uncertain where to post this, so forgive me if it's in the wrong place!

After 4 long, exciting, and at times difficult years, I have come to the end of my physics degree. I do not plan on going into further education at the present time, perhaps in the not so distant future I will, but that does not mean I wish to end my study of physics!
I have really become interested in fundamental physics such as Quantum Mechanics, Field Theory, Fundamental Forces, Gravity, String Theory...all THAT stuff

I would love to hear from anyone here who has explored such stuff by self-study. I would also really appreciate a few pointers! Where do I start? What math should I first explore? Group Theory, Lie Algebras, Complex Analysis? And what about the physics? Should I strengthen my Quantum Mechanics first before delving into the rest?

Hope to hear from a few people with similar experiences!

Thanks!

 

[Angry Citizen]

I wish I could help, but I'm simply too curious not to ask: Why not go for the PhD?

 

[Curl]

Make sure you're solid on Calculus (real analysis, vector analysis, etc.) and study tensors, linear algebra (whatever you missed in math class) then start going through Landau's series. You'd hardly need anything else.

I wish I could help, but I'm simply too curious not to ask: Why not go for the PhD?

Maybe because it takes money?

 

[ych22]

Well many people love science without feeling the need to go into it hardcore, myself included.

And like Curl mentions, money is probably a big factor!

 

[zif.]

Maybe because it takes money?

Maybe for an arts degree...

I have rarely heard of a physics grad student actually having to pay for their graduate degree.

The only cases I can think of is students that are insistent on going to a particular school even if that school doesn't currently have funding available for them.Edit: And for Canadian students at Canadian universities, I have *never* heard of a physics grad student that had to pay for grad school.

 

[Master J]

Well it's a combination of personal issues and availability of courses. I have looked at some PhD's, but they're mostly outside my country...so for the time being, I think I'll be satisfied by studying stuff on my own.

I see the Landua-Lifgarbagez course was mentioned. Is it highly recommended? All of the volumes?

 

[George Jones]

Did you use a text for the last course on quantum mechanics that you took? If so, what was was the text. What math courses did you take?

 

[Curl]

I see the Landua-Lifgarbagez course was mentioned. Is it highly recommended? All of the volumes?

Yes it is highly recommended, they're all superb, but feel free to read the volumes that interest you. I haven't looked at all of them myself, I mostly looked at Vols. 5 and 6

 

[Master J]

I mostly used Sakurai's Modern QM.

As regards the math I've taken, it has been mainly advanced calculus, linear algebra and statistics, although I've done some elementary complex analysis.

What do people here think of Leonard Susskind's online Theoretical Minimum lecture series? Are they a good introduction courses for the kind of stuff I'm interested in?

 

[chiro]

I was a bit uncertain where to post this, so forgive me if it's in the wrong place!

After 4 long, exciting, and at times difficult years, I have come to the end of my physics degree. I do not plan on going into further education at the present time, perhaps in the not so distant future I will, but that does not mean I wish to end my study of physics!
I have really become interested in fundamental physics such as Quantum Mechanics, Field Theory, Fundamental Forces, Gravity, String Theory...all THAT stuff

I would love to hear from anyone here who has explored such stuff by self-study. I would also really appreciate a few pointers! Where do I start? What math should I first explore? Group Theory, Lie Algebras, Complex Analysis? And what about the physics? Should I strengthen my Quantum Mechanics first before delving into the rest?

Hope to hear from a few people with similar experiences!

Thanks!

Hey there MasterJ.

What do you want to get out of studying those topics? As you probably know with your undergraduate studies, solving problems and getting insight from other people about the subject makes your understanding less superficial, and a little deeper.

I guess if you wanted to say learn a few specific things about a subject without wanting to become an expert or gain specialized knowledge, then you won't need to really pursue that avenue professionally, but if you want to pursue that professionally, then you should probably think about some graduate work (Masters) and then maybe looking for a career in industry or a PhD and then go into industry or academia.

So I guess my question is to you "How far do you want to go and what specifically do you want to learn?" If you wanted to know a few certain things then you could probably ask those questions on this forum and experts would be able to answer you pretty swiftly.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

Hey there MasterJ.

What do you want to get out of studying those topics?

Sometimes learning things for yourself is its own reward, and no one asks what's the point in learning for learning's sake.

The only merit to a Msc or Phd is the research part of it, the courses' material can be learned by yourself.

 

[chiro]

Sometimes learning things for yourself is its own reward, and no one asks what's the point in learning for learning's sake.

The only merit to a Msc or Phd is the research part of it, the courses' material can be learned by yourself.

The reason I asked is that if you want to go deep enough, then you're bound to learn a lot more if you make a career out of something vs whether you are just dabbling every now and then.

If you just do a single coursework unit for some subject, your understanding will most likely be very superficial in comparison to someone that has put a long career into working in that area.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

I am not sure the OP meant only dabbling, I know only for myself that as long as I have motivation for learning maths and physics I will keep doing that regardless if it's for a degree or a job.
(It's really my main obsession).

 

[comp_math]

here's the tip:

http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~hooft101/theorist.html

good luck!