PHYS 3120

Students are introduced to partial differential equations, including the wave equation, the heat (or diffusion) equation, and Laplace's equation, which are used to model physical systems. Topics include Fourier series, Fourier transforms, separation of variables, power series solutions of ordinary differential equations, Sturm-Liouville problems, and eigenfunction expansions. Students utilize these to solve initial value and boundary value problems involving partial differential equations, in one or more dimensions, using both Cartesian and non-Cartesian coordinate systems.