Introduction to solid state physics

Abstract

Solid-state physics -and, by extension, condensed-matter physics -is one of the most active and prolific areas of physics today.Hence, any author trying to write an introductory textbook covering its basics necessarily faces a daunting task: what to include and at what level, how much detail to provide, etc. Considering the breadth of modern solid-state physics, many authors prefer focusing on a single aspect of it, as e.g., many-body interactions, magnetism, or superconductivity.Yet, these books are necessarily less suitable for introducing such a wideranging topic.Until 2000, the venerable book by Ashcroft and Mermin [1] was considered as the most complete introduction to the subject, but after 25 years it was clearly showing its age.Hence, in recent years, some worthy successors at a similar level of coverage have appeared.Clearly, these comprise also the latest developments, such as the quantum Hall effect, spin liquids, topological insulators, high-temperature superconductivity, etc. [2-5].