Kinetic theory and its applications to electron transport in metals

When : March 2011, March 2013, March 2015
Where : École Doctorale de Physique de Grenoble
Level : graduate

Program of the course

  1. Phase space, distribution function, Liouville equation, collision integral.
  2. Kinetic equation for electrons in static disorder, electrical conductivity at very low temperatures, diffusion equation.
  3. Collisions in a classical atomic gas, H theorem, thermal equilibrium, hydrodynamic equations.
  4. Coulomb collisions, Debye screening, Landau collision integral.
  5. Collisionless plasma : Vlasov equation, plasma waves, Landau damping.
  6. Collisions of degenerate electrons, Fermi liquid, scattering on impurities, Umklapp processes, electrical and thermal conductivity, thermoelectric effects.
  7. Electron-phonon collisions.

Notes are available upon request.