Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Mechanics 1 for Physicists, PHY-106.7

Course outline:

August-December (2023) 2023_QM1.pdf
August-December (2022) 2022_QM1.pdf

References:

  1. Principle of Quantum Mechanics, R. Shankar, Springer (Edition-2, Sixth Indian Reprint 2015).
  2. Modern Quantum Mechanics, J. J. Sakurai, J. J. Napolitano, Cambridge University Press (Edition-3, 2021).

We may include some content from the following texts in the following years.

  1. Quantum Physics, Michel Le Bellac, Cambridge University Press (Edition-1, 2006).
  2. Quantum Mechanics: Fundamentals, Kurt Gottfried Tung-Mow Yan, Springer (Edition-2, 2003).
  3. Lectures on Quantum Mechanics, Steven Weinberg, Cambridge University Press (Edition-2, 2015).

Notes on selected topics for self-study:

You can read these notes alongside the section in the reference textbook on the right side. This section will be updated as the course progresses.

  1. Application of Lambert-W function to derive Wien’s displacement law, Preliminary topics (Sakurai)
  2. Paradoxes of a classical electron, 1.1: The Stern-Gerlach Experiment (Sakurai)
  3. Linear vector space and Hilbert space, 1.2: Kets, Bras and Operators (Sakurai)
  4. Canonical transformation, 1.6: Position, Momentum, and Translation (Sakurai)
  5. Degeneracy theorem and Wronskian, 2.4: Schroedinger’s Wave Equation (Sakurai)
  6. Series solution for particle-in-a-box, 2.5: Elementary Solutions to Schroedinger’s Wave Equation and Appendix B (Sakurai)
  7. Properties of a physically acceptable wavefunction, 2.5: Elementary Solutions to Schroedinger’s Wave Equation (Sakurai)

What are some excellent textbooks to consult for QM-1?:

Several books discuss specific topics remarkably well. Here is a short list.

  1. Introductory Quantum Mechanics, Richard L. Liboff, Pearson (Edition-4, 2002).
  2. A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics, John S. Townsend, Viva (First Indian Edition, 2010, Reprinted 2017).
  3. Quantum Mechanics, David McIntyre, Corine A. Manogue, Janet Tate, Pearson (First Indian Edition, 2016).
  4. Quantum Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, Mark Beck, Oxford University Press (Edition-1, 2012).
  5. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, D. J. Griffiths, D. F. Schroeter, Cambridge University Press (Edition-3, 2018).

Further, there is a long list of classic texts that I will list some other time.

We will not discuss these topics in this course, but here is a list of references for those interested in getting some idea of these topics.

  1. Quantum Physics: A First Encounter, Valerio Scarani, Oxford University Press (Edition-1, 2006).
  2. A Short Introduction to Quantum Information and Quantum Computation, Michel Le Bellac, Cambridge University Press (Edition-1, 2006).

Optional reading of interesting articles and reviews:

This list is maintained (and will be regularly updated) to collect interesting articles that can be studied/discussed during the QM-1 course. Feel free to go through them. If you have any recommendations for this section, please send them to ramakrishnan@tifrh.res.in

  1. Against Measurement, John Bell, Physics World, Volume 3, Number 8 (1990) pages 33-40.
  2. Ten theorems about quantum mechanical measurements, N.G. Van Kampen, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Volume 153, Issue 1 (1988) pages 97-113.
  3. The Stern-Gerlach experiment revisited, Horst Schmidt-Böcking, Lothar Schmidt, Hans Jürgen Lüdde, Wolfgang Trageser, Alan Templeton & Tilman Sauer, The European Physical Journal H volume 41 (2016) pages 327–364. arxiv link
  4. Albert Einstein’s explanation of how science works from Physics: A Conceptual World View Larry Kirkpatrick, Gregory E. Francis, Cengage Learning (2009).
  5. Stern and Gerlach: How a Bad Cigar Helped Reorient Atomic Physics, Bretislav Friedrich and Dudley Herschbach, Physics Today Volume 56, Number 12 (2003) pages 53–59.
  6. One hundred years of Alfred Landé’s g-factor, Bretislav Friedrich, Gerard Meijer, Horst Schmidt-Böcking, Gernot Gruber, Natural Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 2 (2021) pages 1–7.

Internet sources for images, videos, blogs, etc.:

  1. https://toutestquantique.fr/en/, contains animations of experiments (such as Stern-Gerlach experiment) that we will discuss in the course.

Quantum Mechanics 2, PHY-206.7/CHM-211.7

This course is offered along with Dr. G. Rajalakshmi (raji@tifrh.res.in). This course aims to cover the advanced topics in Sakurai’s Modern Quantum Mechanics (Edition-3, 2021) and possibly some topics from other references.