---
title: Condensed Matter Physics
description: Condensed matter physics explains how large numbers of interacting particles produce the properties of solids and liquids. You will understand band structure, phonons, magnetism, superconductivity, and the many-body methods used to describe strongly correlated systems.
category: sciences
subcategory: physics
difficulty: advanced
url: /subject/condensed-matter
---

# Condensed Matter Physics

Condensed matter physics explains how large numbers of interacting particles produce the properties of solids and liquids. You will understand band structure, phonons, magnetism, superconductivity, and the many-body methods used to describe strongly correlated systems.

## Where to start

Start with Steven H. Simon's The Oxford Solid State Basics video lecture series, 21 free Oxford undergraduate lectures on crystal structure, band theory, phonons and magnetism. If you only use one resource, make it Solid State Physics by Neil W. Ashcroft and N. David Mermin, a paid textbook and the standard reference since 1976. For superconductivity and topological insulators, continue with Girvin and Yang's paid Modern Condensed Matter Physics.

## Available Resources

1 Videos • 3 Books • 1 Websites

## Books

### 1. Modern Condensed Matter Physics

**Author:** Steven M. Girvin, Kun Yang

Graduate text from Yale and Florida State covering what 1970s references omit: quantum magnetism, superconductivity, fractional quantum Hall physics, topological insulators, entanglement, and superconducting qubits. Prepares you to read current condensed matter research literature.

**Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/110713739X?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** condensed-matter, quantum-magnetism, superconductivity, topological-insulators, graduate-textbook

### 2. Solid State Physics (Ashcroft & Mermin)

**Author:** Neil W. Ashcroft, N. David Mermin

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.

**Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0030839939?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** solid-state-physics, condensed-matter, electronic-band-structure, semiconductors, graduate-textbook

### 3. The Oxford Solid State Basics

**Author:** Steven H. Simon

The undergraduate textbook the Oxford lecture series follows, covering specific heat, chemical bonding, crystal lattices, diffraction, band structure, semiconductors and magnetism. Graded exercises with full worked solutions make it workable entirely on your own.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0199680779?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** solid-state-physics, crystallography, band-structure, semiconductors, textbook

## Websites

### 1. Solid State Physics — Cambridge Lecture Notes

**Author:** David Tong

Cambridge Part II lecture notes covering Landau levels, Bloch's theorem, Bravais and reciprocal lattices, Fermi surfaces, phonons, and the quantum Hall effect. Problem sheets included. Terser and more quantum-mechanical than standard undergraduate texts.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/solidstate.html

**Tags:** solid-state-physics, band-structure, phonons, quantum-hall-effect, lecture-notes

## Videos

### 1. The Oxford Solid State Basics — Video Lecture Series

**Author:** Steven H. Simon

Twenty-one filmed Oxford undergraduate lectures on crystal structure, reciprocal space, free-electron and band theory, phonons, and magnetism. Following them, you can derive Debye specific heat, read a band diagram, and interpret X-ray diffraction patterns. Free companion notes and a full solutions manual are posted on Simon's Oxford page.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/oxford-solid-state-basics

**Tags:** solid-state-physics, band-theory, phonons, magnetism, lecture-series

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