Physics

Graduate Co-ordinator:  Nikolay Kolev, PhD

Faculty Listing

Department Research Summary

The Department of Physics at the University of Regina offers graduate programs leading to the MSc and PhD degrees in Experimental and Theoretical Subatomic Physics, with special emphasis in:

• High Energy Physics
• Weak Interactions and Neutrino Physics
• Hadronic QCD Physics

Faculty members and graduate students pursue their research locally, and at locations elsewhere in Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan. Graduate instruction is provided in an encouraging and productive environment. The department is an full member of the TRIUMF subatomic physics laboratory in Vancouver, and has a close relationship with the Jefferson Laboratory in Newport News, Virginia, USA. Our department is also an institutional member of both the institute of Particle Physics and the Canadian Institute for Nuclear Physics.

Admission Requirements

A BSc Honours degree (or equivalent) in physics or engineering physics is required for admission to the MSc program. A minimum average of 75% in all physics and mathematics courses, and an overall average of 70%, is required. Applicants not meeting this standard will be considered for probationary acceptance only. In addition to the grades and recommendation letters, the overlap of the applicant's research interests with those of the department is also taken into account in the acceptance decision. International applicants are encouraged to write the GRE physics subject exam in addition to an English Proficiency exam.

Admission to the PhD program requires satisfactory completion of the MSc degree, in addition to the above requirements, However, it may be possible for a student to transfer directly into the PhD program after an evaluation period if the course work is completed exceptionally well, and clear evidence of research ability is demonstrated.

Application Process

The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) has sole authority for admission, and all offers of admission are approved by and made by the Dean of FGSR.

Applications are reviewed on a continuing basis. Applications and supporting documentation by international applicants are to be received by May 15 for consideration for the Fall semester, and by August 15 for Winter semester entry.

Please go to the FGSR website to start the on-line application.

It is advisable that you inform the Physics Graduate Co-ordinator at: physgrad@uregina.ca that you have applied online.

Once the application is complete, you will be contacted by faculty members or research groups interested in having you work under their supervision. Any recommendation for admission will be referred to FGSR for a final assessment and decision. All applicants who are admitted will receive an offficial letter of acceptance directly from FGSR.

Master's Program Requirements

The MSc degree requires 15 credit hours of class work, and the oral presentation of a thesis before the examining committee.

Master of Science (MSc) in Physics (thesis)

*Physics courses chosen in consultation with thesis supervisor and Department Head. These additional courses can be chosen from other disciplines (e.g. Math, CS, etc). Up to three credit hours from this series may be at the 400 level.

Doctoral Program Requirements

The goal of the PhD program is to teach the skills necessary to produce high quality, original physics research. The PhD degree requires the successful completion of a PhD comprehensive examination, and the presentation of a substantial thesis in an oral defense before an external examiner and the supervisory committee. The credit hour requirements are given as follows:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Physics (after MSc)

*Physics courses chosen in consultation with thesis supervisor and Department Head

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Physics (after BSc)

*Physics courses chosen in consultation with thesis supervisor and Department Head

Courses

PHYS 800 Classical Electrodynamics (3)
Simple radiating systems, scattering, diffraction; covariant formulation of electrodynamics; the Lienard-Wiechert potentials and the field of a uniformly moving and accelerated electron; the motion of charged particles in e-m fields; Hamiltonian formulation of Maxwell’s equations.
Prerequisite: PHYS 311 and PHYS 322 or equivalents

PHYS 801 Advanced Quantum Mechanics (3)
Unitary transformations; dynamical equations; symmetries and conservation laws; angular momentum; density operator formalism; creation and annihilation operators; relativistic quantum mechanics; scattering theory.
Prerequisite: PHYS 401 or equivalent

PHYS 803 Quantum Field Theory (3)
Canonical quantization; free scalar, vector and spinor fields; interacting fields; perturbation theory and Feynman diagrams; quantum electrodynamics, renormalization, gauge fields.
Prerequisite: PHYS 401 or equivalent

PHYS 805 Quantum Field Theory II (3)
Path integral formalism, renormalization, renormalization group, operator product expansions.
Prerequisite: PHYS 803

PHYS 810 General Relativity (3)
Mathematics of general relativity; unconnected manifolds, affinely connected manifolds and metrically connected manifolds; Physics of general relativity, conservation laws and variational principles.
Prerequisite: PHYS 430 or equivalent

PHYS 811 Advanced Classical Mechanics (3)
Hamilton-Lagrange equations, Hamilton-Jacobi theory and applications, transformation theory, and special relativity.
Prerequisite: PHYS 251 and PHYS 301

PHYS 812 Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology (3)
Modern theories of gravitation, equations of state for high densities; relativistic phases of evolution of cosmic objects; theories of cosmology.
Prerequisite: PHYS 810

PHYS 831 Theoretical Nuclear Physics (3)
Review of symmetries; nucleon-nucleon interaction and polarization observables; nuclear models; the nuclear many-body problem; Hartree-Fock potential; random-phase approximation; quasi-particles; e-m interactions with nuclei; the weak interaction.
Prerequisite: PHYS 432 or equivalent, and PHYS 801

PHYS 833 Nuclear Reactions (3)
Direct and compound nuclear reactions; plane wave theory; scattering theory; phenomenological optical potential, DWBA, DWBA amplitudes and DWIA; coupled channels; microscopic theory of inelastic nucleon-nucleus scattering.
Prerequisite: PHYS 801

PHYS 834 Intermediate Energy Nuclear Physics (3)
Meson exchange theories; accelerators, experimental techniques; electron-nucleon and electron nucleus interaction, nucleon-nucleon scattering; nucleon-nucleus interactions; pion-nucleus interactions; relativistic kinematics.
Prerequisite: PHYS 833

PHYS 835 Elementary Particles (3)
Symmetries and quantum numbers of leptons, hadrons, and quarks; e-m, weak, and strong interactions; charm and heavy quark hadrons and hadron spectroscopy; introduction to QCD; unified gauge theories; selected topics beyond the standard model.
Prerequisite: PHYS 442 or equivalent, and PHYS 803

PHYS 871 Experimental Methods of Subatomic Physics (3) 
Basic techniques of experimental nuclear and particle physics. Interaction of particles in matter; cosmic rays and natural radiation; particle accelerators and beam optics; particle detection techniques; detector design issues; data acquisition systems.
Pre-Requisite: Permission of the Department Head

PHYS 885 Approved Summer School (1-3)
This course is available to full-time Physics graduate students in good standing. Students will participate in a summer school offered by an approved institute. The school and credit award must be approved by a committee of 3 faculty members, consisting of Physics Graduate Coordinator, Department Head and one other member (typically the supervisor).
NOTE: This class can be taken more than once in a program, for a maximum total of 3 credit hours provided the institute and course content are different each time.

PHYS 887AA-ZZ Selected Topics in Physics (1-3)
Special topics of interest to both students and faculty. It will be possible for students to repeat this course for credit if the content is different when the course is repeated.

PHYS 890AA-ZZ Selected Readings in Special Topics (1-3)

PHYS 900 Graduate Seminar (1)
Graduate students enrolled in this course will present a 50 minute seminar to the Department of Physics. The subject of the seminar will be decided in consultation with student’s supervisor.

PHYS 901 Thesis Research (1-15)
Thesis research.

PHYS 902 PhD Comprehensive Exam (0)
PhD students must pass the Physics Departmental Comprehensive Exam. Grading is Pass/Fail.
Pre-requisite: Permission of the Department Head.