About us
This is a group for anyone who has ever rigorously studied physics – or has wanted to. Here's why you'd want to join us:
- If you feel like physics is the most interesting and most difficult subject that there is;
- If you're burning with a desire to deeply understand the universe at its smallest and largest scales;
- And if you thrive in an environment of learning through collaboration with people like yourself...
... then you've found the right place!
Join us to participate in lively discussions and learn core material in serious study groups. We offer multiple tracks of study, regularly host special events and talks, and are constantly tweaking the meetup to make it more useful. We also stay in touch between meetings to motivate and help each other continue learning.
Everyone is welcome from every level of experience! Many of us are (re)discovering physics after college (sometimes long after) and it can be easy to feel rusty or underqualified. Don't fall into that false narrative! If you think some of the material in this meetup is too advanced, we want you to join us so that we can help you learn!
Upcoming events
51
Particle Physics Advanced Study Group
·OnlineOnlineCome join us to study particle physics! We meet for two hours every other week to work through the recently released Phenomenology of Particle Physics by André Rubbia. This book devotes equal attention to both theory AND experiment. We'll learn about the modern mathematical and physical frameworks that are used to make predictions about and analyze the results of real physical experiments, including:
- quantum mechanics
- special relativity
- Lagrangian mechanics
- quantum field theory
- QED, QCD, and gauge field theory
- the Standard Model
- math methods in multivariable calculus, group theory, Hilbert spaces, and more
All of this learning will happen within the context of past and present experiments, so we will also be diving into applied topics that include:
- particle accelerators and detectors
- radioactive decay
- deep inelastic scattering
- hadron-hadron collisions
- solar neutrino oscillations
- cosmic rays
- computational physics
This book includes a healthy dose of Python and Mathematica computer code interspersed throughout the text, so anyone interested in computational physics can jump directly into doing analysis and simulation.
Prerequisites: So long as you have taken college calculus and physics at some point in your life, you should be fine. We run several other active study groups that dive further into the topics mentioned here, including quantum field theory, relativity, math methods, and electrodynamics – please join us in some or all of these other meetups! In addition, we will share with you a number of other useful resources that the group offers to help you through any topics you’re struggling with.
BEFORE COMING to the meeting: Please have a copy of the book available to you in some form. If you aren't ready to buy a physical or digital book, you can download a free sample through Amazon/Kindle and see if you like it.
We maintain a live chat server for staying in touch between meetups. Ask us for a link.
This event joins our other existing collaborative study tracks. Please note that this particular meetup series is a highly mathematical meetup for everyone who is serious about learning advanced physics topics at a graduate or advanced undergraduate level. It is not a general discussion group for popular physics topics or sci-fi tangents. For casual physics chat, please attend our regular Discuss Physics & Make Friends event, held every third Wednesday of the month.
Reading Assignment: TBD
Photo Credits: Lucas Taylor / CERN (http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/628469)
3 attendees
Particle Physics Advanced Study Group
·OnlineOnlineCome join us to study particle physics! We meet for two hours every other week to work through the recently released Phenomenology of Particle Physics by André Rubbia. This book devotes equal attention to both theory AND experiment. We'll learn about the modern mathematical and physical frameworks that are used to make predictions about and analyze the results of real physical experiments, including:
- quantum mechanics
- special relativity
- Lagrangian mechanics
- quantum field theory
- QED, QCD, and gauge field theory
- the Standard Model
- math methods in multivariable calculus, group theory, Hilbert spaces, and more
All of this learning will happen within the context of past and present experiments, so we will also be diving into applied topics that include:
- particle accelerators and detectors
- radioactive decay
- deep inelastic scattering
- hadron-hadron collisions
- solar neutrino oscillations
- cosmic rays
- computational physics
This book includes a healthy dose of Python and Mathematica computer code interspersed throughout the text, so anyone interested in computational physics can jump directly into doing analysis and simulation.
Prerequisites: So long as you have taken college calculus and physics at some point in your life, you should be fine. We run several other active study groups that dive further into the topics mentioned here, including quantum field theory, relativity, math methods, and electrodynamics – please join us in some or all of these other meetups! In addition, we will share with you a number of other useful resources that the group offers to help you through any topics you’re struggling with.
BEFORE COMING to the meeting: Please have a copy of the book available to you in some form. If you aren't ready to buy a physical or digital book, you can download a free sample through Amazon/Kindle and see if you like it.
We maintain a live chat server for staying in touch between meetups. Ask us for a link.
This event joins our other existing collaborative study tracks. Please note that this particular meetup series is a highly mathematical meetup for everyone who is serious about learning advanced physics topics at a graduate or advanced undergraduate level. It is not a general discussion group for popular physics topics or sci-fi tangents. For casual physics chat, please attend our regular Discuss Physics & Make Friends event, held every third Wednesday of the month.
Reading Assignment: TBD
Photo Credits: Lucas Taylor / CERN (http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/628469)
3 attendees
Quantum Information Theory
·OnlineOnlineQuantum Information Theory is the study of how information is represented, transmitted, and processed in systems governed by the principles of quantum mechanics. It extends classical information theory to account for quantum phenomena such as superposition, entanglement, and non-locality, enabling tasks like quantum computation, quantum communication, and quantum cryptography. It involves calculating and proving bounds and limits on what is possible and is used as a guide in developing practical schemes.
TIMES:
Weekly on Thursdays from 6-7:30 pm US West Coast Pacific time. May switch to semi-biweekly later in the talks as we get into heavier technical material. Begins Thursday, March 20, 2025.GOAL:
To be able to read and understand textbooks at the level of Watrous and Wilde (below). After the course, the material in Preskill's chapter 10, Quantum Shannon Theory, would be understandable. https://www.preskill.caltech.edu/ph219/chap10_6A_2022.pdfSYLLABUS:
The material will be covered in three parts. We will focus more on solving problems and exercises as we get into the heavier technical material.1. Introduction to information theory. (4-6 weeks)
2. Introduction to quantum information theory. (~16 weeks)
3. Advanced quantum information theory. (~30 weeks)TEXTS:
Introduction to information theory:- T. M. Cover and J. A. Thomas, Elements of information theory, 2nd ed. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley-Interscience, 2006.
Introduction to quantum information theory:
- M. A. Nielsen and I. L. Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information: 10th Anniversary Edition, Anniversary edition. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Advanced quantum information theory:
- S. Khatri, L. Lami, and M. M. Wilde, Principles of Quantum Communication Theory: A Modern Approach. Latest version: https://markwilde.com/PQCT-khatri-lami-wilde.pdf
- J. Watrous, The Theory of Quantum Information, 1st ed. Cambridge University Press, 2018. doi: 10.1017/9781316848142.
- M. M. Wilde, Quantum Information Theory, 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
9 attendees
Quantum Gravity Explorations
·OnlineOnlineThis Session's Topic
To be determined...Overview
This is a collaborative study group dedicated to understanding the foundations, motivations, and current landscape of quantum gravity research. Our goal is to build a clear conceptual picture of why quantum gravity is challenging, what the major approaches attempt to do, and how they compare.Developing a coherent understanding of quantum gravity requires engaging with the mathematics. As such, we will work through explicit equations and derivations to understand how gravitational dynamics emerge, how quantum consistency constrains theories, and why certain results are unavoidable rather than assumed.
Participants should have a basic familiarity with the principles of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and general relativity, and be comfortable with the Lagrangian formalism of physical theories.
What to expect
- We assign readings, lectures to watch, and curated exercises prior to each meeting, which will be announced below.
- During the meetings, one or more of the volunteers will walk through the assigned materials and moderate the discussion.
- Additional discussion between meetings will take place on our chat server, where we can exchange solutions, notes, interesting and relevant articles, etc. Notes and solutions may also be hosted in our Github repository.
What this group is NOT
- Not a popular science or sci-fi discussion group.
- Not a high-pressure, exercise-heavy bootcamp.
- Not a forum to strongly endorse or air grievances against any one approach to quantum gravity .
For casual physics chat or general discussion, please see our other Meetup groups.
Community & Continuity
We maintain a live chat server for continuing discussions between meetups, and a link can be provided upon request if you’d like to join. This even is part of the broader Physics With Friends community, which hosts multiple collaborative study tracks across physics and mathematics.Materials & Assignments
We are currently reading Barton Zwiebach’s A First Course in String Theory, 2nd Ed. (Amazon link).- Assigned reading to be determined...
6 attendees
Past events
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