Optical probes of electron correlations in solids

Classically the interaction between light and matter is given by the Maxwell relations. These are briefly reviewed and will be used as a basis to discuss several techniques that are used in optical spectroscopy. We then discuss the quantum mechanical description of the optical conductivity based on the Kubo formalism. This is used as a basis to understand how strong correlation effects can be observed using optical techniques. We will discuss the use of sum rules in the interpretation of optical experiments. Finally, we describe the effect of including interactions between electronic and collective degrees of freedom on optical spectra.