Atomic And Quantum Physics

Atomic physics and its underlying quantum theory are the point of departure for many modern areas of physics, astrophysics, chemistry, biology, and even electrical engineering. This textbook provides a careful and eminently readable introduction to the results and methods of empirical atomic physics. The student will acquire the tools of quantum physics and at the same time learn about the interplay between experiment and theory. A chapter on the quantum theory of the chemical bond provides the reader with an introduction to molecular physics. Plenty of problems are given to elucidate the material. The authors also discuss laser physics and nonlinear spectroscopy, incorporating latest experimental results and showing their relevance to basic research. Extra items in the second edition include solutions to the exercises, derivations of the relativistic Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations, a detailed theoretical derivation of the Lamb shift, a discussion of new developments in the spectroscopy of inner shells, and new applications of NMR spectroscopy, for instance tomography.

Nearly all of this book is taken from an article prepared for a volume of the Encyclopedia of Physics. This article, in turn, is partly based on Dr. Norbert Rosenzweig's translation of an older article on the same subject, written by one of us (H.A.B.) about 25 years ago for the Geiger-Scheel Handbuch der Physik. To the article written last year we have added some Addenda and Errata. These Addenda and Errata refer back to some of the 79 sections of the main text and contain some misprint corrections, additional references and some notes. The aim of this book is two-fold. First, to act as a reference work on calcu lations pertaining to hydrogen-like and helium-like atoms and their comparison with experiments. However, these calculations involve a vast array of approximation methods, mathematical tricks and physical pictures, which are also useful in the application of quantum mechanics to other fields. In many sections we have given more general discussions of the methods and physical ideas than is necessary for the study of the H- and He-atom alone. We hope that this book will thus at least partly fulfill its second aim, namely to be of some use to graduate students who wish to learn "applied quantum mechanics". A basic knowledge of the principles of quantum mechanics, such as given in the early chapters of Schiff's or Bohm's book, is presupposed.

This book is intended for physicists and chemists who need to understand the theory of atomic and molecular structure and processes, and who wish to apply the theory to practical problems. As far as practicable, the book provides a self-contained account of the theory of relativistic atomic and molecular structure, based on the accepted formalism of bound-state Quantum Electrodynamics. The author was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1992.

This introduction to the concepts and methods of quantum mechanics employs the analysis of one-dimensional problems to offer students a quantitative understanding of atomic, molecular, solid-state, and nuclear physics. Applications of these concepts and methods help answer the most intriguing questions of modern physics: What holds matter together? Holds it apart? How does the variety of chemical properties of different elements arise? How do electrons move through solids? Why do nuclei that occur in nature possess only certain combinations of protons and neutrons? The text presents meaningful problems by topic — supplemented by ample illustrations, applications, and exercises — that address the most intriguing questions of modern physics. Answers to selected problems appear in the appendix. Geared toward science and engineering majors, this volume is also appropriate for independent study by those who have completed a general physics course.

The importance of the ?eld of atomic physics to modern technology cannot be overemphasized. Atomic physics served as a major impetus to the development of the quantum theory of matter in the early part of the twentieth century and, due to the availability of the laser as a laboratory tool, it has taken us into the twen- ?rst century with an abundance of new and exciting phenomena to understand. Our intention in writing this book is to provide a foundation for students to begin researchinmodernatomicphysics. Asthetitleimplies,itisnot,norwasitintended to be, an all-inclusive tome covering every aspect of atomic physics. Any specialized textbook necessarily re?ects the predilection of the authors toward certain aspects of the subject. This one is no exception. It re?ects our - lief that a thorough understanding of the unique properties of the hydrogen atom is essential to an understanding of atomic physics. It also re?ects our fasci- tion with the distinguished position that Mother Nature has bestowed on the pure Coulomb and Newtonian potentials, and thus hydrogen atoms and Keplerian - bits. Therefore, we have devoted a large portion of this book to the hydrogen atom toemphasizethisdistinctiveness. Weattempttostresstheuniquenessoftheattr- tive 1/r potential without delving into group theory. It is our belief that, once an understanding of the hydrogen atom is achieved, the properties of multielectron atoms can be understood as departures from hydrogenic properties.

The highly positive affirmation and wide reception that this book continues to receive from professors and students ahke is the occasion for this 7th edition. Once again we have included a number of valuable suggestions for improvements, which we address as appropriate. In addition, we refer to a number of developments in atomic physics. Of these new developments in regard to exotic atoms, we mention antihydrogen in par ticular, because fundamental experiments in matter and antimatter can be expected in the future. Furthermore, we have inserted a chapter on the behaviour of atoms in strong elec trical fields. Experiments with corresponding lasers could only recently be realized. We thank our Jenaer colleague, R. Sauerbrey, for his contribution of this chapter. We have also included a new chapter on the behaviour of the hydrogen atom in strong magnetic fields. The results are of profound interest for two very different fields of physics: on the one hand, according to classical physics, one expects chaotic behaviour from Rydberg atoms in magnetic fields that can be created in the laborato ry; thus, an association can be drawn to aspects of chaos theory and the problems of quantum chaos. On the other hand, the very strong fields necessary for low quantum numbers are realized in the cosmos, in particular with white dwarfs and neutron stars.

Up-to-Date Coverage of Stable and Accurate Frequency StandardsThe Quantum Physics of Atomic Frequency Standards: Recent Developments covers advances in atomic frequency standards (atomic clocks) from the last several decades. It explains the use of various techniques, such as laser optical pumping, coherent population trapping, laser cooling, and e

This expanded and updated well-established textbook contains an advanced presentationof quantum mechanics adapted to the requirements of modern atomic physics. Itincludes topics of current interest such as semiclassical theory, chaos, atom optics andBose-Einstein condensation in atomic gases. In order to facilitate the consolidationof the material covered, various problems are included, together with completesolutions. The emphasis on theory enables the reader to appreciate the fundamentalassumptions underlying standard theoretical constructs and to embark on independentresearch projects. The fourth edition of Theoretical Atomic Physics contains anupdated treatment of the sections involving scattering theory and near-thresholdphenomena manifest in the behaviour of cold atoms (and molecules). Special attentionis given to the quantization of weakly bound states just below the continuum thresholdand to low-energy scattering and quantum reflection just above. Particular emphasisis laid on the fundamental differences between long-ranged Coulombic potentialsand shorter-ranged potentials falling off faster than 1/r2 at large distances r. The newsections on tunable near-threshold Feshbach resonances and on scattering in two spatialdimensions also address problems relevant for current and future research in the fieldof cold (and ultra-cold) atoms. Graduate students and researchers will find this book avaluable resource and comprehensive reference alike.