Introduction to modern physics : theoretical foundations / John Dirk Walecka.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Walecka, John Dirk, 1932-

Contributor:

Emma Louise McClellan Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Physics.

Physical Description:

xv, 477 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New Jersey : World Scientific, [2008]

Summary:

Our understanding of the physical world was revolutionized in the twentieth century - the era of "modern physics". This book, aimed at the very best students, presents the foundations and frontiers of today's physics. It focuses on the following topics: quantum mechanics; applications in atomic, nuclear, particle, and condensed-matter physics; special relativity; relativistic quantum mechanics, including the Dirac equation and Feynman diagrams; quantum fields; and general relativity. The aim is to cover these topics in sufficient depth such that things "make sense" to students and they can achieve an elementary working knowledge of them. Many problems are included, a great number of which take dedicated readers just as far as they want to go in modern physics. Although the book is designed so that one can, in principle, read and follow the text without doing any of the problems, the reader is urged to attempt as many of them as possible. Several appendices help bring the reader up to speed on any additional required mathematics. With very few exceptions, the reader should then find the text, together with the appendices and problems, to be self-contained. Book jacket.

Contents:

2 Classical Physics 7

2.1 Newton's Laws 7

2.1.1 Discrete Mechanics 9

2.1.2 Continuum Mechanics 13

2.1.3 Some Mathematics 23

2.2 Statistical Physics 25

2.2.1 Classical Statistical Mechanics 26

2.2.2 Equipartition Theorem 29

2.3 Electrodynamics 31

2.3.2 Some Applications 33

2.3.3 Maxwell's Equations 36

2.3.4 Electromagnetic Radiation 37

2.3.5 Source of Radiation 39

3 Some Contradictions 41

3.1 Specific Heat of Solids 41

3.2 Black-Body Radiation 46

3.2.1 Planck's Hypothesis 48

3.3 Specific Heat - Revisited 51

3.3.1 Einstein Model 51

3.3.2 Debye Model 51

3.4 Photoelectric Effect 52

3.4.1 Einstein's Analysis 54

3.5 Compton Scattering 55

3.6 Atomic Spectra 57

3.6.1 Rutherford Atom 58

3.6.2 Bohr Atom 59

4 Quantum Mechanics 63

4.1 Matter Waves 63

4.2 Davisson-Germer Experiment 65

4.3 Schrodinger Equation 65

4.3.1 One-Dimensional Wave Equation 66

4.3.2 Phase Velocity 68

4.3.3 Group Velocity 69

4.3.4 Interpretation 70

4.3.5 Differential Equation 71

4.3.6 More Mathematics 72

4.3.7 Continuity Equation 74

4.3.8 General Solution for Free Particle 76

4.3.9 Interpretation (Continued) 77

4.3.10 Include Forces 79

4.3.11 Boundary Conditions 80

4.3.12 Stationary States 81

4.4 Solution to Some One-Dimensional Problems 82

4.4.1 Particle in a One-Dimensional Box 82

4.4.2 Potential Barrier in One-Dimension 84

4.4.2.1 Scattering State 85

4.4.2.2 Reflection and Transmission Coefficients 87

4.4.3 Boundary Condition at a Wall 90

4.4.4 Simple Harmonic Oscillator 91

4.5 Three Dimensions 92

4.5.1 Classical Continuum Mechanics 93

4.5.2 Schrodinger Equation 95

4.5.3 Particle in a Three-Dimensional Box 96

4.5.4 Free Particle - Periodic Boundary Conditions 97

4.6 Comments on the Structure of Quantum Mechanics 98

4.7 Angular Momentum 99

4.8 Point Coulomb Potential 104

4.9 Spin 106

4.10 Identical Particles 109

4.10.1 Connection Between Spin and Statistics 109

4.10.2 Non-interacting, Spin-1/2 Fermions ("Fermi Gas") 109

4.10.3 Non-Interacting Bosons ("Bose Gas") 114

4.10.4 Quantum Statistics (T [not equal] 0) 114

4.10.5 Wave Functions 116

5 Atomic Physics 117

5.1 Vector Model for Addition of Angular Momenta 117

5.1.1 Larmor's Theorem 120

5.1.2 Effective Magnetic Moment 121

5.2 Zeeman Effect 122

5.3 Spin-Orbit Interaction 123

5.4 Thomas-Fermi Theory 125

5.4.1 Thomas-Fermi Equation 125

5.4.2 Binding Energy of Atom 131

5.4.3 Numerical Results 133

5.5 Periodic System of the Elements 136

5.5.1 Shielded Coulomb Potential 136

5.5.2 Hartree Approximation 137

5.5.3 Structure of the Single-Particle Levels 138

5.5.4 Chemical Properties of the Elements 141

6 Nuclear Physics 145

6.1 Baryons 145

6.2 [Beta]-decay 147

6.3 Mean Life 147

6.4 Deuteron 148

6.5 Atomic Masses 154

6.6 Light Nuclei 156

6.7 Semi-Empirical Mass Formula 157

6.7.1 Bulk Properties 158

6.7.2 Surface Energy 158

6.7.3 Coulomb Energy 159

6.7.4 Symmetry Energy 159

6.7.5 Pairing Energy 159

6.7.6 Empirical Fit 160

6.8 Electron Scattering 162

6.8.1 Single-Slit Diffraction 162

6.8.2 Electron Scattering from a Charge Distribution 164

6.8.3 Nuclear Charge Distribution 166

6.9 Nuclear Matter 166

6.10 Shell Model 168

6.10.1 A Simple Model 169

6.10.2 More Realistic Model 171

6.10.3 Spin-Orbit Interaction 173

6.10.4 Nuclear Spins and Parities 174

6.10.5 Schmidt Lines 175

6.11 [gamma]-Decay 177

7 Particle Physics 181

7.1 Forces 181

7.2 Particles 182

7.2.1 Electric Charge 182

7.3 Hadrons 182

7.3.1 Baryon Number 182

7.3.2 Strangeness 182

7.3.3 Isospin 183

7.3.4 Charm 187

7.4 Yukawa Interaction 188

7.5 Leptons 191

7.6 Antiparticles 193

7.7 Feynman Diagrams 194

7.8 S-matrix 194

7.8.1 Transition Rate 195

7.8.2 Cross Section 197

7.9 Feynman Diagrams (Continued) 198

7.10 Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) 199

7.10.1 [mu]-e Scattering 199

7.10.2 Anomalous Magnetic Moment of Electron 200

7.11 Quarks 201

7.11.1 Nuclear Domain 204

7.11.2 Some Applications 206

7.12 Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) 208

7.13 Standard Model of Electroweak Interactions 211

8 Special Relativity 213

8.1 Michelson-Morley Experiment 213

8.2 Lorentz Transformation 217

8.3 Einstein's Theory 218

8.4 Time Dilation 221

8.5 Lorentz Contraction 222

8.6 Transverse Dimension 223

8.7 Minkowski Space 225

8.8 Four-Vectors 230

8.9 Some Applications 233

8.9.1 Relativistic Kinematics 233

8.9.2 White Dwarf Stars 239

9 Relativistic Quantum Mechanics 245

9.1 The Dirac Equation 245

9.1.1 Non-Relativistic Reduction 250

9.1.2 Electromagnetic Current 252

9.1.3 Covariant Form 252

9.1.4 Dirac Hole Theory 253

9.1.5 Electromagnetic Interactions 254

9.2 Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) 255

9.3 Weak Interactions 259

9.4 Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) 262

10 General Relativity 265

10.1 Motion on a Two-Dimensional Surface 265

10.2 Equivalence Principle 268

10.3 Local Freely Falling Frame (LF[superscript 3]) 271

10.4 Special Relativity 272

10.5 Einstein's Theory of General Relativity 272

10.6 Schwarzschild Solution 274

10.6.1 Interpretation 274

10.6.2 Some Applications 276

10.6.3 Schwarzschild Radius 277

10.6.4 Motion of a Point Mass 279

10.7 Cosmology 281

10.7.1 Robertson-Walker Metric (k = 0) 281

10.7.2 Interpretation 283

10.7.3 Horizon 285

11 Quantum Fluids 287

11.1 Superfluid [superscript 4]He 287

11.1.1 Hartree Approximation 289

11.1.2 Velocity Field 290

11.1.3 Quantized Circulation 291

11.1.4 Gross-Pitaevskii Equation 292

11.1.5 Vortex 293

11.1.6 Superfluidity 296

11.2 Superconductivity 298

11.2.1 Experimental Properties 299

11.2.2 Some Observations 300

11.2.3 Cooper Pairs 301

11.2.4 Flux Quantization 308

12 Quantum Fields 311

12.1 String 311

12.1.1 Energy 311

12.1.2 Normal Modes 312

12.1.3 Quantization 315

12.1.4 The Quantum Field 317

12.2 Electromagnetic Field 318

12.2.1 Normal Modes 318

12.2.2 Quantization 321

12.2.3 Stimulated Emission 321

12.3 Dirac Field 322

12.3.1 Anticommutation Relations 322

12.3.2 Dirac Field 323

12.3.3 Some Applications 323

12.4 Many-Particle Systems 325

13 Problems 327

Appendix A Complex Variables-A Primer 391

Appendix B Matrices 395

Appendix C Fourier Series and Fourier Integrals 401

Appendix D Some Thermodynamics 405

Appendix E Some Statistical Mechanics 409

Appendix F Some Vector Calculus 419

Appendix G Black-Body Flux 423

Appendix H Wave Functions for Identical Particles 425

H.1 Bosons 426

H.2 Fermions 427

H.3 Some Applications 431

Appendix I Transition Rate 435

Appendix J Neutrino Mixing 443

Appendix K Units 447

K.1 Standard International (SI) 447

K.2 Heaviside-Lorentz (rationalized cgs) 448

K.3 cgs 449

Appendix L Fundamental Constants 451

Appendix M Some Significant Names for Theoretical Physics 453.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 455-459) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Emma Louise McClellan Fund.

ISBN:

9789812812247

9812812245

9789812812254

9812812253

OCLC:

225820322

Publisher Number:

99937511834