Frank Hegmann, PhD
Contact
Professor, Faculty of Science - Physics
- hegmann@ualberta.ca
- Phone
- (780) 492-7852
- Address
-
3-197 Centennial Ctr For Interdisciplinary SCS II
11335 Saskatchewan Drive NWEdmonton ABT6G 2H5
Overview
About
My expertise is in ultrafast phenomena of materials, terahertz (THz) science and technology, ultrafast scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), optics and photonics, and nanophysics. I have two labs in Physics, the Ultrafast Spectroscopy Lab and the Ultrafast Nanotools Lab, where we use advanced femtosecond laser sources to perform time-resolved THz spectroscopy and THz-STM for exploring fundamental ultrafast processes in materials down to the atomic scale.
Awards
2014-15 University of Alberta McCalla Professorship
2014 Alberta Innovates Technology Futures/iCORE Strategic Chair in Terahertz Science and Technology
Research
Experimental condensed matter physics, ultrafast terahertz spectroscopy, terahertz scanning tunneling microscopy, transient photoconductivity, biological effects of intense THz pulses, THz source development, nanomaterials, nanotechnology, photonics, optics
Teaching
Recipient of the 2013 Faculty of Science Award for Excellent Teaching
Courses
PHYS 271 - Introduction to Modern Physics
This course covers the emergence of modern physics through revisions to the Newtonian worldview and the development of quantum mechanics. The course starts with the discovery of the wave nature of light through diffraction and interferometry leading to the observation of lines in atomic spectra. The course then discusses the early experiments that lead to the discovery of the structure of matter and early quantum phenomena including: Rutherford scattering, quantization of charge and energy, Blackbody radiation, Compton scattering, Bohr atom and de Broglie wavelength. This is followed by an introduction to the Schrödinger equation and solutions to 1D problems including: infinite and finite square potential wells, the quantum harmonic oscillator and quantum tunneling, before discussing quantized angular momentum. The course then concludes with a tour of the exciting applications of modern physics in different fields with some possible examples including: semiconductors, superconductors, nuclear decays and reactions, the Standard Model, the Higgs boson, quantum information, supernovae and Black Holes, Dark Matter, the Big Bang and Gravitational Waves. Prerequisite: one of PHYS 124, PHYS 144, or EN PH 131. Corequisites: MA PH 251 or MATH 201 or MATH 334 or MATH 336 and MATH 102 or 125 or 127.
PHYS 297 - Experimental Physics II
Contemporary methods of experimental physics with measurements from classical and modern physics. This is a continuation of Experimental Physics I with application of more advanced techniques and more in-depth exploration of the selected physics topics. Prerequisite: PHYS 295. Corequisites: PHYS 271, and MATH 101 or 115 or 118 or 146.
PHYS 381 - Electromagnetic Theory I
Review of scalar and vector fields; Gauss and Stokes theorems; curvilinear coordinates; Dirac delta function; electrostatic field and potential; electrostatic energy; conductors, capacitors; Laplace's equation; boundary value problems; methods of images; multipoles; electrostatic field in matter; polarization; displacement; linear dielectrics; magnetostatic field; Biot-Savart and Ampere's law; vector potential; magnetostatic field in matter; magnetization; linear and nonlinear magnetic media. Prerequisites: PHYS 181 or 230 or 281; MA PH 251 or MATH 201 or 337; MA PH 351 or MATH 209 or 315 or 317.