The Oxford Solid State Basics

Citation

Simon, S. H. (2013). The Oxford Solid State Basics. Oxford University Press.

Chapter Summary

The book has 23 chapters in seven parts, followed by two appendices: a sample exam with solutions, and a list of other good books. The author is a theoretical condensed matter physicist at the University of Oxford. A 2012 draft of his lecture notes for the third-year Oxford solid state course, hosted by the physics department, follows a closely parallel structure.

Chapter 1: About Condensed Matter Physics

A short opening chapter on what condensed matter physics is and why it is worth studying.

Part I, Chapters 2–4: Solids Without Considering Microscopic Structure: The Early Days of Solid State

Specific Heat of Solids: Boltzmann, Einstein, and Debye; Electrons in Metals: Drude Theory; and More Electrons in Metals: Sommerfeld (Free Electron) Theory. The part title frames these as the early days of the subject: models that treat the solid without regard to its microscopic structure.

Part II, Chapters 5–7: Structure of Materials

The Periodic Table; What Holds Solids Together: Chemical Bonding; and Types of Matter. This part supplies the chemical background to why atoms bind into solids.

Part III, Chapters 8–11: Toy Models of Solids in One Dimension

One Dimensional Model of Compressibility, Sound, and Thermal Expansion; Vibrations of a One Dimensional Monatomic Chain; Vibrations of a One Dimensional Diatomic Chain; and Tight Binding Chain (Interlude and Preview). Vibrations and a first look at band ideas through tight binding are worked out in one dimension before the three-dimensional geometry arrives.

Part IV, Chapters 12–13: Geometry of Solids

Crystal Structure; and Reciprocal Lattice, Brillouin Zone, Waves in Crystals.

Part V, Chapter 14: Neutron and X-Ray Diffraction

Wave Scattering by Crystals, a part devoted entirely to scattering as the probe of crystal structure.

Part VI, Chapters 15–18: Electrons in Solids

Electrons in a Periodic Potential; Insulator, Semiconductor, or Metal; Semiconductor Physics; and Semiconductor Devices.

Part VII, Chapters 19–23: Magnetism and Mean Field Theories

Atomic Magnetism: Para- and Dia-Magnetism; Magnetic Order; Domains and Hysteresis; Mean Field Theory; and Magnetism from Interactions: The Hubbard Model.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–7: Early Models and Materials

• Specific heat models: Boltzmann, Einstein and Debye accounts of the heat capacity of solids.
• Drude and Sommerfeld theories: the classical and quantum free-electron models of metals.
• Chemical bonding: the interactions that hold solids together, and the types of matter that result.

Chapters 8–14: One-Dimensional Models, Geometry and Diffraction

• Vibrations of chains: monatomic and diatomic one-dimensional models of lattice dynamics.
• Tight binding: a chain of coupled atomic orbitals, introduced early as a preview of bands.
• Reciprocal lattice and Brillouin zone: the space in which waves in crystals are described.
• Wave scattering by crystals: the principle behind neutron and X-ray diffraction.

Chapters 15–23: Electrons and Magnetism

• Electrons in a periodic potential: the setting for energy bands.
• Insulator, semiconductor or metal: the distinction by band filling.
• Mean field theory: an approximate treatment of magnetic order.
• Hubbard model: the model used for magnetism from interactions.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A sequence designed to build in stages. The early models come first, then 1D toy models, then 3D geometry, diffraction and electrons. The "Interlude and Preview" chapter on tight binding shows a deliberate effort to introduce band ideas before the full 3D treatment.
• A broad first course in a compact book. The 23 chapters include chemical bonding and types of matter (Part II), diffraction as its own part, semiconductors and devices, and five chapters on magnetism, ending with the Hubbard model.
• Course-oriented extras. Appendix A is a sample exam with solutions, and Appendix B lists other good books on the subject, so a student can test themselves and move on to other texts. The draft lecture notes likewise carry an annotated list of recommended books.

Limitations

• Not comprehensive. The contents have no chapter on superconductivity, and the book ends with magnetism and the Hubbard model; readers needing wider coverage will need a longer text. The draft lecture notes describe a syllabus from which point-group symmetries were removed and in which superconductivity is non-examinable.
• Oxford-shaped emphasis. In the course notes, the author says Oxford is "extremely heavy on scattering theory" compared with most courses, and the book gives diffraction a part of its own. Readers on a syllabus with a different balance may find some parts over-weighted.
• Prerequisites are not spelled out. The publisher's listing does not state them. The specific-heat models and electron-gas theories of Part I presuppose basic quantum and statistical mechanics.

Where It Fits in the Course

Simon's book is a compact one-term treatment, and in this course list it sits between the gentlest introductions and the standard long texts. Hofmann's Solid State Physics: An Introduction and Hook and Hall's Solid State Physics are first introductions for students meeting the subject for the first time; Hook and Hall emphasize physical reasoning over formal apparatus, and the author's own notes call it the book students often like most. Kittel's Introduction to Solid State Physics is the long-established textbook that runs from crystal structure and lattice vibrations to magnetic, dielectric and superconducting properties, and Ibach and Lüth's Solid-State Physics is a translation with a focus on materials and experimental techniques.

Simon can serve as the main text for a compact single course, or be read before Kittel or Ibach and Lüth. Girvin and Yang's Modern Condensed Matter Physics is the graduate-level continuation, with topological phases, the quantum Hall effects and other modern topics beyond the Hubbard model that ends Simon.

How to Use This Book

The book suits third-year physics students who have had a first course in quantum mechanics and basic statistical mechanics. The one-dimensional models in Part III, the reciprocal lattice in Part IV and the band picture in Part VI form the core of the subject.

A sensible plan for a one-term course is to read Chapters 1–4 for context and the early models, skim Chapters 5–7 if the chemistry is familiar, work through Chapters 8–14 in order, and make Chapters 15–18 the electronic core. Chapters 19–23 can be read selectively. Use the sample exam in Appendix A under timed conditions, and consult the book list in Appendix B for deeper treatment of any part.