Quantum Mechanics I

Changes and additions to the new edition of this classic textbook include a new chapter on symmetries, new problems and examples, improved explanations, more numerical problems to be worked on a computer, new applications to solid state physics, and consolidated treatment of time-dependent potentials.

The first edition of this book was published in 1978 and a new Spanish e(,tition in 1989. When the first edition appeared, Professor A. Martin suggested that an English translation would meet with interest. Together with Professor A. S. Wightman, he tried to convince an American publisher to translate the book. Financial problems made this impossible. Later on, Professors E. H. Lieband W. Thirring proposed to entrust Springer-Verlag with the translation of our book, and Professor W. BeiglbOck accepted the plan. We are deeply grateful to all of them, since without their interest and enthusiasm this book would not have been translated. In the twelve years that have passed since the first edition was published, beautiful experiments confirming some of the basic principles of quantum me chanics have been carried out, and the theory has been enriched with new, im portant developments. Due reference to all of this has been paid in this English edition, which implies that modifications have been made to several parts of the book. Instances of these modifications are, on the one hand, the neutron interfer ometry experiments on wave-particle duality and the 27r rotation for fermions, and the crucial experiments of Aspect et al. with laser technology on Bell's inequalities, and, on the other hand, some recent results on level ordering in central potentials, new techniques in the analysis of anharmonic oscillators, and perturbative expansions for the Stark and Zeeman effects.

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.

This title gives students a good understanding of how quantum mechanics describes the material world. The text stresses the continuity between the quantum world and the classical world, which is merely an approximation to the quantum world.

Here Roland Omnès offers a clear, up-to-date guide to the conceptual framework of quantum mechanics. In an area that has provoked much philosophical debate, Omnès has achieved high recognition for his Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (Princeton 1994), a book for specialists. Now the author has transformed his own theory into a short and readable text that enables beginning students and experienced physicists, mathematicians, and philosophers to form a comprehensive picture of the field while learning about the most recent advances. This new book presents a more streamlined version of the Copenhagen interpretation, showing its logical consistency and completeness. The problem of measurement is a major area of inquiry, with the author surveying its history from Planck to Heisenberg before describing the consistent-histories interpretation. He draws upon the most recent research on the decoherence effect (related to the modern resolution of the famous Schrödinger's cat problem) and an exact formulation of the correspondence between quantum and particle physics (implying a derivation of classical determinism from quantum probabilism). Interpretation is organized with the help of a universal and sound language using so-called consistent histories. As a language and a method, it can now be shown to be free of ambiguity and it makes interpretation much clearer and closer to common sense.

A comprehensive collection of problems of varying degrees of difficulty in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, with answers and completely worked-out solutions. An ideal adjunct to any textbook in quantum mechanics.

In learning quantum theory, intuitions developed for the classical world fail, and the equations to be solved are sufficiently complex that they require a computer except for the simplest situations. This book represents an attempt to jump the hurdle to an intuitive understanding of wave mechanics by using illustrations to present the time evolution and parameter dependence of wave functions in a wide variety of situations. Most of the illustrations are computer-generated solutions of the Schrödinger equation for one- and three-dimensional systems, with the situations discussed ranging from the simple particle in a box through resonant scattering in one dimension to the hydrogen atom and Regge classification of resonant scattering. Thoroughly revised and expanded to include a discussion of spin and magnetic resonance.

R. Shankar has introduced major additions and updated key presentations in this second edition of Principles of Quantum Mechanics. New features of this innovative text include an entirely rewritten mathematical introduction, a discussion of Time-reversal invariance, and extensive coverage of a variety of path integrals and their applications. Additional highlights include: - Clear, accessible treatment of underlying mathematics - A review of Newtonian, Lagrangian, and Hamiltonian mechanics - Student understanding of quantum theory is enhanced by separate treatment of mathematical theorems and physical postulates - Unsurpassed coverage of path integrals and their relevance in contemporary physics The requisite text for advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level students, Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Second Edition is fully referenced and is supported by many exercises and solutions. The book’s self-contained chapters also make it suitable for independent study as well as for courses in applied disciplines.