Physics syllabus comparison 2026
106 physics topics mapped across 7 exams — UPPSC Polytechnic 2026, MPPSC 2026, CSIR NET, Rajasthan SET 2026, Punjab Lecturer 2026, J&K Assistant Professor 2026 and AP SET. Pick your exams below to compare only those. A green tick means the topic is in that syllabus and a red cross means it is not.
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| Topic | UPPSC | MPPSC | CSIR NET | Rajasthan SET | Punjab | J&K | AP SET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematical Physics | |||||||
| Dimension AnalysisDimensional analysis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vector CalculusVector algebra and vector calculus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| TensorsConcept of Tensor | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Differential EquationsLinear ordinary differential equations of first & second order | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Special Functionsspecial functions ( Legendre, Hermite, Bessel, Laguerre functions). | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fourier and Laplace AnalysisFourier series, Fourier and Laplace transforms | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Partial Differential Equations and Greens function | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ProbabilityElementary probability theory, random variables, binomial, Poisson and normal distributions. Central limit theorem. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| MatricesLinear algebra, matrices, Cayley-Hamilton Theorem. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Complex AnalysisElements of complex analysis, analytic functions; Taylor & Laurent series; poles, residues and evaluation of integrals | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Group theoryIntroductory group theory: SU(2) and O(3) | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Numerical MethodsElements of computational techniques: root of functions, interpolation, extrapolation, integration by trapezoid and Simpson's rule, Solution of first order differential equation using Runge-Kutta method. Finite difference methods. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Classical Mechanics | |||||||
| Basic MechanicsNewton's laws of motion | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rotational MotionDynamic of System of particle and rigid body, Center of mass and Center of Gravity, moment of inertia tensor, conservation law's of Energy, momentum and angular momentum | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Central Forcescentral force and its characteristics, Keplar's law's of planetary motion, Reduction of Two body Central Force Problems, Planate and Satellite, Orbital and escape velocity, communication satellite. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Lagrangian and HamiltonianVariational principle. Generalized coordinates. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalism and equations of motion. Conservation laws and cyclic coordinates. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Poisson bracket and laplace transformPoisson Brackets and canonical transformations, Hamilton-Jacobi Theory | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pseudo ForcesNon-inertial frames and pseudoforces | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Special theory of RelativitySpecial theory of relativity-Lorentz transformations, relativistic kinematics and mass-energy equivalence. Doppler effect in light. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bulk Matter and Fluid mechanicsElastic behavior of loaded wire, Elastic constants, Torsion of Cylinder, Bending of beam, Cantilever, surface tension, surface energy, angle of contact, capillarity, Excess pressure, Ideal fluid, hydro dynamical equations based on conservation of mass, Momentum and energy, Viscous force (Newton's law, Poiseuille law, Stokes law). | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Phase SpaceDynamical systems, Phase space dynamics, stability analysis. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Small OscillationsPeriodic motion: small oscillations, normal modes. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Electromagnetism | |||||||
| ElectrostaticsElectric Flux, Gauss law in electrostatics and its applications, Electric Field and Potential, Laplace and Poisson equations, boundary value problems.Conductors, capacitors | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| MagnetostaticsAmpere's circuital law and its applications, Lorentz force, cyclotron (limit and modification) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Electromagnetic InductionMagnetic Flux, Laws of electro-magnetic induction, static and dynamic Induced emf , Self and Mutual induction and inductance,equation of continuity and modification of Ampere's circuital law, Conduction and displacement current | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| EM WavesMaxwell's equations in free space and linear isotropic media; boundary conditions on the fields at interfaces. Electromagnetic waves in free space. Dielectrics and conductors. Reflection and refraction | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PlasmaDispersion relations in plasma. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Waveguides and Transmission LineTransmission lines and wave guides. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Potential formulationScalar and vector potentials, gauge invariance. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| RadiationsRadiation- from moving charges and dipoles and retarded potentials. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Relativistic EMTLorentz invariance of Maxwell's equation | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multipole expansionmultipole expansion | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Electric field in matterLinear dielectrics, dielectric polarization, volume and surface bound charges, | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Image problemmethod of images | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Quantum Mechanics | |||||||
| Modern PhysicsWave particle duality, Matter waves, Uncertainity Principle, Photoelectric and Compton effect, Davisson - Germer experiment | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basics of Quantum MechanicsWavepacket, Schrodinger equation ( Time dependent and Time independent), Physical Significance of wave function, Normalisation, Orthogonality, Orthonormality, Eigen value equation, Eigen value, Eigen function, Expectation value, Ehrenfest Theorem, Dirac function and Kronecker delta, Wave-function in coordinate and momentum representations. Commutators and Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Dirac notation for state vectors. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Potential WellParticle in a box, Potential step, Potential barrier, Tunneling through a barrier | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Harmonic Oscillator and 1D potentialsHarmonic oscilator, Dirac Delta potential and other 1D potentials | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hydrogen atom (Radial and orbital angular momentum)Motion in a central potential: orbital angular momentum, angular momentum algebra | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spin and Total Angular momentumspin, addition of angular momenta; Hydrogen atom. Stern-Gerlach experiment | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pertubation TheoryTimeindependent perturbation theory and applications. Time dependent perturbation theory and Fermi's golden rule, selection rules. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scattering theoryElementary theory of scattering: phase shifts, partial waves, Born approximation. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| WKB approximationWKB approximation. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Variational PrincipleVariational method | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Relativistic QuantumRelativistic quantum mechanics: Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations. Semi-classical theory of radiation. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Identical ParticlesIdentical particles, Pauli exclusion principle, spin-statistics connection. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thermodynamics | |||||||
| Kinetic theory of gasesElements of Kinetic theory of gases. Velocity distribution and Equipartition of energy. Specific heat of Mono-, di- and tri-atomic gases. Ideal gas, van-der-Waals gas and equation of state. Mean free path | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Laws and thermodynamic processesLaws of thermodynamics. Zeroth law and concept of thermal equilibrium. First law and its consequences. Isothermal and adiabatic processes. Reversible, irreversible and quasi-static processes. Second law and entropy | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Carnot CycleCarnot cycle, Heat engine, Refrigerator. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Maxwell Relation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thermodynamic Potential | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Phase transitionFirst and second order phase transition. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Black Body Radiationsconduction, convection, Black Body Radiation Kirchhoff's laws, Planck's distribution law and deduction of Stefan's law, Wien's law and Rayleigh-Zeans law, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Statistical Mechanics | |||||||
| Microstates and Microcanonical ensembleMacrostate and microstate, Micro-canonical, Gibb's- canonical, hermodynamic and statistical Entropy and theorems, Gibb's paradox and its resolution | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Canonical Ensembleconnonical ensembles, Partition functions | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Grand Canonical EnsembleGrand-connonical ensembles | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fermi Stat. Mech.Fermi gases | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bose Stat. Mech.Ideal Bose gases, Bose Eintein condensation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Random Walk and DiffusionRandom walk and Brownian motion.Diffusion equation. Introduction to nonequilibrium processes. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ising ModelIsing model. | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Optics | |||||||
| Optical InstrumentsCardinal points, Huygens and Ramsden eyepiece Defect of visions, Human eye and camera, Telescope and microscope, | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| InterferenceYoung's double slits, Biprism, Colour in thin films, Newton's ring, Michelson interferometer, Fabry-Perot inter-ferometer, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| DiffractionFresnel and Fraunhoffer's Diffraction , Zone Plate, Single slit and multiple slits diffraction, plane Grating, Resolving Power of Grating and optical instruments, Limit and criteria of resolution. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PolarizationUnpolarised and polarised light, Plane of vibration and plane polarization, Polarization by Reflection, Refraction, Double refraction, Dichroism, Law of Malus, Nicol Prism, Retaradation Plates (Half and Quarter), Babinet compensator, Optical rotation, Polarimeters, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| LasersCoherence (Temporal and Spatial), Induced emission, Spontaneous emission, Induced absorption, Einstein's A \& B co-efficients, components of Laser, Types of pumping, Ruby lasers, He-Ne lasers, Semi-conductor lasers, Holography and Photography, Medical application of lasers, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Oscillations and WavesUndamped, Damped, Forced and Resonance Vibrations, Lissajous figures, Velocity of Sound, Plane progressive and stationry waves, Vibration of Stretched strings and organ Pipes, Reflectivity and Transmittivity at boundry, Phase velocity and Group velocity. | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Ray opticsray-transfer matrix for mirrors and lenses;General theory of image formation | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Electronics | |||||||
| Semiconductor PhysicsIntrinsic and extrinsic semi conductors, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PN JunctionsPN Junction, Zener Diode and their characterstic, Rectifier and filters, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| TransistorsBipolar and Unipolar transistors, Input and Output characterstics curve, Hybrid Parameters, Gains ( Resistences, Current, Voltage, Power), | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Amplifiers and OPAMPVoltage and Power Amplifiers, Feedback Amplifiers, Operational Amplifiers and its application, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| High Frequency devicesOscillators, Modulators, Detectors, Supersonics, Ultrasonic (Production, Detection and Applications), | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Electronic instrumentsMultimeters, CRO, Voltmeter, Galvanometer, Ammeter | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Optoelectronic DevicesOpto electronic devices ( LED, Photo detectors, Photo transistors, Solar cells). | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Logic GatesLogic Gates (NOT, AND, OR, NAND, NOR, XOR, XNOR) and their switching circuit, Logic symbols, Truth Tables, Venn diagram, Boolean functions, K-Map, Adder and Subtractor, Boolean Theormes, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Digital CircuitsCounters, Comparators, Flip-flops, Micro processors, microcontroller basics. A/D, D/A conversion | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| FETfield effect devices,device structure, device characteristics, frequency dependence and applications | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AC and DC CircuitsKCL, KVL, Cells and basic electronics, Simple DC and AC circuits with R, L and C components. | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Experimental techniques | |||||||
| Error analysisleast count, significant figures; methods of measurement and error analysis for physical quantities associated with various measurements; | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Curve fittingLeast square fitting, linear and non-linear curve fitting, Chi-square test. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| TransducersTransducers (Temperature, Pressure/vacuum, magnetic field, Vibrations, Optical and particle detectors) measurement and control, Signal conditioning and recovery, impedance matching. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fourier application and filteringFiltering and Noise reduction, shielding and grounding, Fourier transformation. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Lock In AmplifierLock-in detector, Box-car integrator, modulation technique. | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Atomic and Molecular Physics | |||||||
| Structure of atomBohr's and Sommer feld Atomic Models, Hydrogen like atoms, Quantum states of an electron in an atom. Electron spin. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vector ModelVector atom model, Sodium D1 and D2 lines, Bohr megneton, Larmor frequency, Stern- Gerlach experiment, Selection rules, Spectral terms, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Effects and coupling in atomL-S coupling, J-J coupling, Lande-g factor, Zeeman effect ( Normal and anomalous), Paschenback effect, Stark effect, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Xray SpectraOptical spectra and X-Ray spectra, Duan-hunts law, Moseley law, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ESR, NMR and EPRESR, NMR and EPR | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Molecular PhysicsElectronic, Rotational, Vibrational molecular Spectra, Raman effect, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nuclear and Particle Physics | |||||||
| Nuclear PropertiesBasic nuclear properties: size, shape and charge distribution, spin and parity. Binding energy, | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nuclear Modelssemiempirical mass formula, liquid drop model,Evidence of shell structure, single-particle shell model, its validity and limitations. Rotational spectra. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nuclear ForcesNature of the nuclear force, form of nucleon-nucleon potential, charge-independence and charge-symmetry of nuclear forces. Deuteron problem. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| RadioactivityElementary ideas of alpha, beta and gamma decays and their selection rules. Fission and fusion. Nuclear reactions, reaction mechanism, compound nuclei and direct reactions. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Particle PhysicsClassification of fundamental forces. Elementary particles and their quantum numbers (charge, spin, parity, isospin, strangeness, etc.). Gellmann-Nishijima formula. Quark model, baryons and mesons. C, P, and T invariance. Application of symmetry arguments to particle reactions. Parity non-conservation in weak interaction. Relativistic kinematics. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Condensed Matter Physics | |||||||
| CrytallographyElements of crystallography | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Xray DiffractionBravais lattices. Reciprocal lattice. Diffraction and the structure factor | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bonding in solidsBonding of solids. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Lattice VibrationsElastic properties, phonons, lattice specific heat. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free electron theoryFree electron theory and electronic specific heat. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Band theoryDrude model of electrical and thermal conductivity, Electron motion in a periodic potential, band theory of solids: metals, insulators and semiconductors. nearly free electron modelc, onductivity, electron and hole statistics in intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors, mobility and effective mass | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hall effectHall effect and thermoelectric power. metal-semiconductor junctions; ohmic and rectifying contacts; | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dielectric Properties | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Magnetism in Solidsmagnetic properties of solids; dia, para, ferro, antiferro and ferri magnetism, ferromagnetic domains; | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SuperconductivitySuperconductivity: type-I and type-II superconductors. Josephson junctions. Superfluidity. Defects and dislocations. Ordered phases of matter: translational and orientational order, kinds of liquid crystalline order. Quasi crystals. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Defects in solids | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Contributions in physics | |||||||
| contributions by indian scientistsContribution of Aryabhata, Varahmihir, Bramhagupta and Bhaskaracharya to Astrophysics in ancient times. Basic information of ancient and modern observatories in India. Contribution of Indian Physicists J C Bose, C.V. Raman, S N Bose, Meghnad Saha, Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai, Raja Ramanna and J. V. Narlikar. | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
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