Fundamentals of Quantum Mechanics

Another book on Quantum Optics? or Quantum Information? Well, not - actly. A more descriptive title might be: “A guided tour through basic qu- tum mechanics, quantum optics and quantum information”. Even better, a few words on its origin and our motivation for undertaking the task might be useful to the potential reader in deciding whether to turn the pages beyond this preface. For more than ten years now, a graduate course on quantum optics has been taught in the physics department of the University of Crete. Spanning two semesters, it originally consisted of a collection of topics representative of what can be found in the numerous by now excellent books on quantum optics. Over the last four years or so,however, the course acquired a gradually increasing segment of what is broadly referred to as quantum information, whichatthispointisapproximatelyhalfofthematerial.Inevitably,thetopics on standard quantum optics had to be reduced or compressed accordingly.

Quantum mechanics has evolved from a subject of study in pure physics to one with a wide range of applications in many diverse fields.

This book presents a comprehensive course of quantum mechanics for undergraduate and graduate students. After a brief outline of the innovative ideas that lead up to the quantum theory, the book reviews properties of the Schrödinger equation, the quantization phenomena and the physical meaning of wave functions.

This book, the first in a two-volume set, provides an introduction to the fundamentals of (mainly) non-relativistic quantum mechanics. This first volume chiefly focuses on the essential principles, while applications and extensions of the formalism can be found in volume 2. Including but also moving beyond material that is covered in traditional textbooks on quantum mechanics, the book discusses in detail current issues such as interaction-free quantum measurements or neutrino oscillations, as well as fundamental problems and epistemological questions, such as the measurement problem. A chapter on the postulates of quantum mechanics rounds off this first volume.

Fundamentals of Quantum Physics