A Course in Quantum Mechanics

The aim of this book is to explain the basic concepts and phenomena of quantum mechanics by means of visualization. Computer-generated illustrations in color are used extensively throughout the text, helping to establish the relation between quantum mechanics—wave functions, interference, atomic structure, and so forth—and classical physics—point mechanics, statistical mechanics, and wave optics. Even more important, by studying the pictures in parallel with the text, readers develop an intuition for such notoriously abstract phenomena as

In this third volume of A Course in Mathematical Physics I have attempted not simply to introduce axioms and derive quantum mechanics from them, but also to progress to relevant applications. Reading the axiomatic litera­ ture often gives one the impression that it largely consists of making refined axioms, thereby freeing physics from any trace of down-to-earth residue and cutting it off from simpler ways of thinking. The goal pursued here, however, is to come up with concrete results that can be compared with experimental facts. Everything else should be regarded only as a side issue, and has been chosen for pragmatic reasons.

Quantum mechanics, Quantum physics and mechanics of quantized objects

Now in its 2nd edition, Quantum Mechanics on the PC presents the most up-to-date approach to elementary quantum mechanics. It is based on the interactive program Interquanta, which runs on MS-DOS either with or without coprocessor (two separate versions included on a 3 1/2'' diskette).

A student's first course on quantum mechanics provides the foundation essential for much of his or her future work in physics, be it in atomic, elementary particle, or solid state physics. This introductory textbook contains not only the foundations and many applications of quantum mechanics, but also new aspects and their experimental verification. It has as its particular virtues clarity and conciseness of presentation, while at the same time being self-contained. Comprehensibility is further guaranteed by the inclusion of all the mathematical steps required for a complete understanding. Carefully chosen problems help to consolidate the student's knowledge. In the introductory chapters, starting from the historical evolution of the subject, the fundamental postulates are developed inductively by means of an interference experiment. Thereafter the structure is purely deductive, covering all of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, plus the quantization of the radiation field in the context of optical transitions. As well as the quantum mechanical "essentials", for instance, detailed treatments of scattering theory, time dependent phenomena, and the density matrix, such topics as the theory of quantum mechanical measurement and the Bell inequality are dis- cussed. A separate chapter is devoted to supersymmetric quantum mechanics, an area which to date has been accessible only in the research literature.