Solid State Physics (Ashcroft & Mermin)
by Neil W. Ashcroft, N. David Mermin · Saunders College Publishing
The standard reference for solid state physics since 1976, treating the free-electron gas, periodic potentials, transport and semiconductors chapter by chapter with unusual care. Use it to work out derivations that shorter undergraduate texts state without proof. The reference every condensed matter physicist keeps on the shelf and the assumed background for the incoming MIT graduate courses.
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