Outline:

The aim of the course is to provide students with an understanding of atomic transitions, precision measurements, atoms in strong laser fields, single photon effects and cavity quantum electrodynamics and ultracold atoms.

Aims:

This course aims to provide a modern perspective on the interactions of atoms and photons with detailed discussion of high intensity field effects, such as multiphoton processes and extending to low field effects; cooling and trapping.

Teaching and Learning Methodology:

This course is delivered via weekly lectures supplemented by a series of workshops and additional discussion.

In addition to timetabled lecture hours, it is expected that students engage in self-study in order to master the material. This can take the form, for example, of practicing example questions and further reading in textbooks and online.

Indicative Topics:

Atomic transitions
	Precision measurement
	Atoms in strong laser fields
	Single photon effects and cavity quantum electrodynamics
	Ultracold atoms

Outline and Aims: 

The students will be given background in Physical theories developed specifically for understanding Biological Systems. As these systems...

Outline and Aims: 

The students will be given background in Physical theories developed specifically for understanding Biological Systems. As these systems function out of equilibrium, very different and novel physical properties emerge that are not covered by classical physics.

Teaching and Learning Methodology:

This course is delivered via approximately 30 hours of lectures.

In addition to timetabled lecture hours, it is expected that students engage in self-study in order to master the material. This can take the form, for example, of practicing example questions and further reading in textbooks and online.

Indicative Topics:

Computational modelling of biological processes. Computer simulations act as a bridge between molecular scales and the macroscopic world, and can serve as a mediator between analytical theory and experiment. These lectures will focus on advanced computational techniques developed to treat a large ensemble of explicit biological objects, such as macromolecules or cells. Emphasis will be placed on understanding how their complex interactions and stochastic nature lead to emergent collective behaviour. Taking inter-cellular trafficking, and protein aggregation in cells, as our case studies, we will discuss obtaining quantitative physical measurements in computer simulations that can be directly compared with experiments, and associated challenges.
	Physics of biological flows. This section of the course covers the physical theories that describes deformation of living matter at the scale of cells and tissues. We will start by introducing the hydrodynamics of simple fluids and the physics of biological swimmers. We will then present hydrodynamic theories of active complex fluids, which describe large scale flows of matter driven out of equilibrium by chemical energy, such as ATP consumption by myosins in the cytoskeleton. We will discuss physical models of morphogenesis of tissues at the end of the course.