Quantum Theory Concepts And Methods

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.

If the carriers of information are governed by quantum mechanics, new principles for information processing apply. This graduate textbook introduces the underlying mathematical theory for quantum communication, computation, and cryptography. A focus lies on the concept of quantum channels, understanding figures of merit, e.g. fidelities and entropies in the quantum world, and understanding the interrelationship of various quantum information processing protocols.

This book is based on lecture notes developed in last twenty-two years during which the authors have been teaching a core graduate course, Quantum Mechanics II, in Fudan University. It covers a very broad range of topics, presenting the state of the art in Quantum Mechanics. Discussions on some topics such as Levinson theorem, Casimir effect, the essence of special relativity, the interpretation of wave function, geometric phase, fractional statistics, and paradoxes in quantum mechanics, reflect to some extent the authors' own research results. The book is profound, practical, enlightening, and pleasantly readable. It is not only a very good textbook for students majoring in theoretical, experimental, or applied physics, but also a very useful reference for researchers as well.

This new edition presents a comprehensive, up-to-date survey of the concepts and methods in contemporary condensed matter physics, emphasizing topics that can be treated by quantum mechanical methods. The book features tutorial discussions of a number of current research topics. Also included are updated treatments of topics that have developed significantly within the past several years, such as superconductivity, magnetic impurities in metals, methods for electronic structure calculations, magnetic ordering in insulators and metals, and linear response theory. Advanced level graduate students and practicing condensed matter physicists will use the second edition of Quantum Theory of the Solid State as an important source of information. n Renormalization group theory n Integer and fractional quantum Hall effect n Transport in mesoscopic systems, and n Numerical methods in many-body theory

Quantum Theory of the Solid State, Part A, describes the concepts and methods, and introduces some of the central problems of the quantum theory of solids. This work is intended to be a single intellectual unit, although for reasons of convenience it has been divided into two parts. Part A contains much of the formalism required for the theoretical study of solids; Part B is oriented toward more specific problems. The present volume includes phenomenological treatments of lattice vibrations and magnetic order; a discussion of symmetry groups; and a description of the properties of one-electron wave functions and the principal techniques for calculating energy levels. Fairly lengthy bibliographies have been included at the end of each chapter to assist readers in making their way through the more specialized periodical literature. This book should be suitable as a textbook for students who have completed a one-year course in quantum mechanics and have some familiarity with the experimental facts of solid state physics. It should also be useful as a reference work.

Innovative account of the origins of quantum mechanics told from a historical perspective, for advanced undergraduates, graduate students and researchers.

The book gives a streamlined introduction to quantum mechanics while describing the basic mathematical structures underpinning this discipline. Starting with an overview of key physical experiments illustrating the origin of the physical foundations, the book proceeds with a description of the basic notions of quantum mechanics and their mathematical content. It then makes its way to topics of current interest, specifically those in which mathematics plays an important role. The more advanced topics presented include: many-body systems, modern perturbation theory, path integrals, the theory of resonances, adiabatic theory, geometrical phases, Aharonov-Bohm effect, density functional theory, open systems, the theory of radiation (non-relativistic quantum electrodynamics), and the renormalization group. With different selections of chapters, the book can serve as a text for an introductory, intermediate, or advanced course in quantum mechanics. Some of the sections could be used for introductions to geometrical methods in Quantum Mechanics, to quantum information theory and to quantum electrodynamics and quantum field theory.

Shown here is how basic concepts of physics can be used to improve models in finance, economics, psychology and biology. Readers are introduced to how physical theory can inform non-physical phenomena in the social sciences, thereby improving decision making and modeling capabilities in research-based and professional settings. Consisting of three parts, the first part deals with the application of quantum operator methods to financial transactions and population dynamics. Part two develops physical concepts, working from classical Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics and leading to an introduction of quantum information and its application to decision making. The final part treats classical and quantum probability theory in some detail and deals, at a more advanced level, with the impact of quantum probabilities on common knowledge and common beliefs between agents in systems. Quantum Methods in Social Science is a high level textbook for advanced undergraduate or graduate students of economics, finance and business, while also being of interest to those with a background in physics. Request Inspection Copy Contents:Quantum Counting: The Number Operator in a Social Science Context:IntroductionClassical Interlude: Modelling Population DynamicsA Quantum Description of SystemsQuantum CountingQuantum TransactionsQuantum MigrationMore Elaborate SystemsConclusionsReferences — Part IThe Quantum-Like Paradigm with Simple Applications:Taking a Step BackModeling Information with an Operational FormalismDecision Making and Quantum ProbabilityReferences — Part IIThe Quantum-Like Paradigm with Advanced Applications:Basics of Classical ProbabilityQuantum ProbabilityCommon KnowledgeQuantum(-Like) Formalization of Common KnowledgeExamplesAppendixReferences — Part III Readership: Advanced undergraduate or graduate students of economics, finance and business, while also being of interest to those with a background in physics.