Fundamentals Of Quantum Physics

This book presents a comprehensive course of quantum mechanics for undergraduate and graduate students. After a brief outline of the innovative ideas that lead up to the quantum theory, the book reviews properties of the Schrödinger equation, the quantization phenomena and the physical meaning of wave functions. The book discusses, in a direct and intelligible style, topics of the standard quantum formalism like the dynamical operators and their expected values, the Heisenberg and matrix representation, the approximate methods, the Dirac notation, harmonic oscillator, angular momentum and hydrogen atom, the spin-field and spin-orbit interactions, identical particles and Bose-Einstein condensation etc. Special emphasis is devoted to study the tunneling phenomena, transmission coefficients, phase coherence, energy levels splitting and related phenomena, of interest for quantum devices and heterostructures. The discussion of these problems and the WKB approximation is done using the transfer matrix method, introduced at a tutorial level. This book is a textbook for upper undergraduate physics and electronic engineering students.

Authored by an acclaimed teacher of quantum physics and philosophy, this textbook pays special attention to the aspects that many courses sweep under the carpet. Traditional courses in quantum mechanics teach students how to use the quantum formalism to make calculations. But even the best students - indeed, especially the best students - emerge rather confused about what, exactly, the theory says is going on, physically, in microscopic systems. This supplementary textbook is designed to help such students understand that they are not alone in their confusions (luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Erwin Schroedinger, and John Stewart Bell having shared them), to sharpen their understanding of the most important difficulties associated with interpreting quantum theory in a realistic manner, and to introduce them to the most promising attempts to formulate the theory in a way that is physically clear and coherent. The text is accessible to students with at least one semester of prior exposure to quantum (or "modern") physics and includes over a hundred engaging end-of-chapter "Projects" that make the book suitable for either a traditional classroom or for self-study.

Fundamentals of Quantum Mechanics, Third Edition is a clear and detailed introduction to quantum mechanics and its applications in chemistry and physics. All required math is clearly explained, including intermediate steps in derivations, and concise review of the math is included in the text at appropriate points. Most of the elementary quantum mechanical models—including particles in boxes, rigid rotor, harmonic oscillator, barrier penetration, hydrogen atom—are clearly and completely presented. Applications of these models to selected “real world topics are also included. This new edition includes many new topics such as band theory and heat capacity of solids, spectroscopy of molecules and complexes (including applications to ligand field theory), and small molecules of astrophysical interest. Accessible style and colorful illustrations make the content appropriate for professional researchers and students alike Presents results of quantum mechanical calculations that can be performed with readily available software Provides exceptionally clear discussions of spin-orbit coupling and group theory, and comprehensive coverage of barrier penetration (quantum mechanical tunneling) that touches upon hot topics, such as superconductivity and scanning tunneling microscopy Problems given at the end of each chapter help students to master concepts

This book studies the foundations of quantum theory through its relationship to classical physics. This idea goes back to the Copenhagen Interpretation (in the original version due to Bohr and Heisenberg), which the author relates to the mathematical formalism of operator algebras originally created by von Neumann. The book therefore includes comprehensive appendices on functional analysis and C*-algebras, as well as a briefer one on logic, category theory, and topos theory. Matters of foundational as well as mathematical interest that are covered in detail include symmetry (and its "spontaneous" breaking), the measurement problem, the Kochen-Specker, Free Will, and Bell Theorems, the Kadison-Singer conjecture, quantization, indistinguishable particles, the quantum theory of large systems, and quantum logic, the latter in connection with the topos approach to quantum theory. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

This book contains discussions of radiation theory, quantum statistics and the many-body problem, and more advanced topics in collision theory. It is intended as a text for a first-year graduate quantum mechanics course.

The Theoretical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics addresses fundamental issues that are not discussed in most books on quantum mechanics. This book focuses on analyzing the underlying principles of quantum mechanics and explaining the conceptual and theoretical underpinning of quantum mechanics. In particular, the concepts of quantum indeterminacy, quantum measurement and quantum superposition are analyzed to clarify the concepts that are implicit in the formulation of quantum mechanics. The Schrodinger equation is never solved in the book. Rather, the discussion on the fundamentals of quantum mechanics is treated in a rigorous manner based on the mathematics of quantum mechanics. The new concept of the interplay of empirical and trans-empirical constructs in quantum mechanics is introduced to clarify the foundations of quantum mechanics and to explain the counter-intuitive construction of nature in quantum mechanics. The Theoretical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics is aimed at the advanced undergraduate and assumes introductory knowledge of quantum mechanics. Its objective is to provide a solid foundation for the reader to reach a deeper understanding of the principles of quantum mechanics.

This book is a comprehensive text in the field of quantum mechanics, covering fundamental concepts including the state of a quantum mechanical system, operators, superposition principle and measurement postulate. The notion of an operator and the algebra of operators are introduced with the help of elementary concepts of mathematical analysis. Mathematical tools developed will help readers in understanding the difficulties encountered in classical physics while trying to explain the experimental results involving atomic spectra and other phenomena. The differential equations that arise while solving eigenvalue problems are solved rigorously, to make the text self-sufficient. The solutions are then physically interpreted and explained. The text offers solved examples, analogous and homework problems to help students in solving practical problems of physics requiring quantum mechanical treatment.

The basic concepts of quantum mechanics are explained in this book in a concise and easy-to-read manner, leading toward applications in solid-state electronics and optics. Following a logical sequence, the book focuses on key ideas and is conceptually and mathematically self-contained.