Quantum Theory A Concise Edtition

Bohr and Planck helped shaped the cultural landscape of the world today. Now their work is available here in a digestible, pocket format for the modern reader. A concise, uncluttered edition for the modern reader, with a new introduction. Quantum Theory contains two foundational works of quantum research from the early years of the 20th Century, representing breakthroughs in science that radically altered the landscape of modern knowledge: Quantum Theory of Line-Spectra by Niels Bohr and The Origin and Development of the Quantum Theory by Max Planck. The FLAME TREE Foundations series features core publications which together have shaped the cultural landscape of the modern world, with cutting-edge research distilled into pocket guides designed to be both accessible and informative.

Presenting a variety of topics that are only briefly touched on in other texts, this book provides a thorough introduction to the techniques of field theory. Covering Feynman diagrams and path integrals, the author emphasizes the path integral approach, the Wilsonian approach to renormalization, and the physics of non-abelian gauge theory. It provides a thorough treatment of quark confinement and chiral symmetry breaking, topics not usually covered in other texts at this level. The Standard Model of particle physics is discussed in detail. Connections with condensed matter physics are explored, and there is a brief, but detailed, treatment of non-perturbative semi-classical methods. Ideal for graduate students in high energy physics and condensed matter physics, the book contains many problems,which help students practise the key techniques of quantum field theory.

There are many excellent books on quantum theory from which one can learn to compute energy levels, transition rates, cross sections, etc. The theoretical rules given in these books are routinely used by physicists to compute observable quantities. Their predictions can then be compared with experimental data. There is no fundamental disagreement among physicists on how to use the theory for these practical purposes. However, there are profound differences in their opinions on the ontological meaning of quantum theory. The purpose of this book is to clarify the conceptual meaning of quantum theory, and to explain some of the mathematical methods which it utilizes. This text is not concerned with specialized topics such as atomic structure, or strong or weak interactions, but with the very foundations of the theory. This is not, however, a book on the philosophy of science. The approach is pragmatic and strictly instrumentalist. This attitude will undoubtedly antagonize some readers, but it has its own logic: quantum phenomena do not occur in a Hilbert space, they occur in a laboratory.

Quantum Theory is the most revolutionary discovery in physics since Newton. This book gives a lucid, exciting, and accessible account of the surprising and counterintuitive ideas that shape our understanding of the sub-atomic world. It does not disguise the problems of interpretation that still remain unsettled 75 years after the initial discoveries. The main text makes no use of equations, but there is a Mathematical Appendix for those desiring stronger fare. Uncertainty, probabilistic physics, complementarity, the problematic character of measurement, and decoherence are among the many topics discussed. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This textbook highlights a concise introduction to quantum mechanics in a readable and serious manner. Being readable, the book intends to present the beauty and magic of quantum mechanics to the mass public. Being serious, the book uses mathematics to describe the most profound results in quantum mechanics. To balance the two, the book assumes that the readers are familiar with high-school mathematics and instructs the least possible advanced mathematics necessary for the understanding of quantum mechanics. The book first covers the history of quantum mechanics and then introduces the magical quantum world, including quantum states living in Hilbert space, indistinguishable particles, linear superposition, Heisenberg's uncertainty relations, quantum entanglement, Bell's inequality, quantum energy levels, Schrödinger’s cat and many-worlds theory, etc. To compare with classic physics, the book also covers the classic mechanics before introducing quantum mechanics. At last, the book briefly covers quantum computing and quantum communications. Besides readers of other majors, the book is also a good reference for students in physics. It helps physics students to develop a solid understanding of the basics of quantum mechanics, preventing them from getting lost in solving the Schrödinger equation. The book also discusses quantum entanglement and quantum information which traditional quantum mechanics textbooks do not cover. The Foreword is written by Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate in physics, 2004. This book is a translation of an original Chinese edition. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation.

Starting from basic principles, the book systematically covers both Heisenberg and Schrödinger realizations of quantum mechanics (in this order). It provides excellent didactic introduction to the essential principles and treats recent concepts such as entanglement and decoherence. The book gives the background needed to understand quantum cryptography, teleportation and computation, and it is especially suitable for introducing the spin. This second edition includes a more friendly presentation to Hilbert spaces, and more practical applications e.g. scanning tunneling microscope (potential barrier).

Graduate-level text offers unified treatment of mathematics applicable to many branches of physics. Theory of vector spaces, analytic function theory, theory of integral equations, group theory, and more. Many problems. Bibliography.

Informative review considers the development of fundamental commutation relations for angular momentum components and vector operators. Additional topics include the computation and application of matrix elements of scalar, vector, and tensor operators for deriving useful relations in the theory of magnetic moments, electric quadruple moments, and dipole transition probabilities.