A concise introduction to quantum mechanics / Mark S. Swanson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Swanson, Mark S., 1947- author.

Contributor:

Institute of Physics (Great Britain), publisher.

Series:

IOP (Series). Release 23.

IOP ebooks. 2023 collection.

[IOP release $release]

IOP ebooks. [2023 collection]

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Quantum theory.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (various pagings) : illustrations (some color).

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Bristol [England] (Temple Circus, Temple Way, Bristol BS1 6HG, UK) : IOP Publishing, [2023]

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader, EPUB reader, or Kindle reader.

Biography/History:

Mark Swanson, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Connecticut and lives in Monroe, Connecticut. He received his PhD in physics from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He held postdoctoral appointments at the University of Alberta and the University of Connecticut, as well as a faculty appointment at the University of Connecticut at Stamford. He is the author of 25 research articles and two monographs, with an emphasis on field theory and path integral techniques.

Summary:

This extended and updated second edition course text presents a logical and concise introduction to the basic concepts, applications, and physical meaning of quantum mechanics. An initial review of classical mechanics and electromagnetism provides the reader with the context for quantum mechanics. Starting with atomic level experimental results, the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics is derived, with the wave function related to the statistical theory of random variables. Applying the requirement of Galilean invariance yields the Schr�odinger equation, and the Copenhagen interpretation of the wave function is discussed. After numerous basic applications of wave mechanics, including the hydrogen atom and the harmonic oscillator, the text then presents Dirac notation and Hilbert space theory. New chapters discuss perturbation theory, path integrals, scattering theory, and quantum entanglement.

Contents:

1. Classical mechanics and electromagnetism

1.1. Newtonian mechanics

1.2. Light and electromagnetism

1.3. Newtonian point particle solutions

2. The origins of quantum mechanics

2.1. Blackbody radiation and Planck's constant

2.2. Light and photons

2.3. Electron diffraction and the de Broglie wavelength

2.4. Bohr and the atom

2.5. The need for further development

3. The wave function and observable quantities

3.1. Basic properties of the wave function

3.2. A review of complex variables

3.3. Fourier analysis and function spaces

3.4. The complex valued wave function

3.5. Observables in wave mechanics

3.6. Superposition and mixed states

4. Formal wave mechanics

4.1. The Schr�odinger equation

4.2. General properties of the Schr�odinger equation solutions

4.3. Stationary solutions to the Schr�odinger equation

4.4. A simple example : the one-dimensional well

4.5. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle

4.6. Minimum uncertainty wave functions

5. Applications of wave mechanics

5.1. Barrier reflection and tunneling

5.2. The one-dimensional harmonic oscillator

5.3. The hydrogen atom

5.4. A charged particle in a uniform and constant magnetic field

6. Dirac notation and the matrix formulation

6.1. Hilbert space

6.2. Dirac notation

6.3. Matrices and basic linear algebra

6.4. Matrix representations of quantum mechanics

6.5. Operator methods in quantum mechanics

6.6. Matrix analysis of the Hamiltonian

6.7. Electron diffraction revisited

7. Symmetry, angular momentum, and multiparticle states

7.1. Quantum mechanical observables as symmetry generators

7.2. Rotation group theory

7.3. Rotations and quantum mechanics

7.4. General angular momentum

7.5. The Stern-Gerlach experiment and electron spin

7.6. Multiparticle states and statistics

7.7. Angular momentum addition

7.8. Multiparticle states, entanglement, and decoherence

8. Approximation techniques

8.1. Stationary perturbation theory

8.2. Atomic fine structure

8.3. Time-dependent perturbation theory

8.4. The sudden approximation

8.5. The interaction picture and the evolution operator

8.6. The path integral transition amplitude

9. Scattering

9.1. Basic concepts of scattering

9.2. Basic aspects of quantum mechanical scattering

9.3. Partial wave analysis

9.4. Green's function techniques

9.5. Formal scattering theory.

Notes:

"Version: 20231001"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references.

Title from PDF title page (viewed on November 1, 2023).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9780750356633

9780750356626

OCLC:

1409094806

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.