Quantum Mechanics: Introduction to Mathematical Formulation

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.

This book discusses the mathematical foundations of quantum theories. It offers an introductory text on linear functional analysis with a focus on Hilbert spaces, highlighting the spectral theory features that are relevant in physics. After exploring physical phenomenology, it then turns its attention to the formal and logical aspects of the theory.

In this monograph, we shall present a new mathematical formulation of quantum theory, clarify a number of discrepancies within the prior formulation of quantum theory, give new applications to experiments in physics, and extend the realm of application of quantum theory well beyond physics.

Stochastic mechanics is a theory that holds great promise in resolving the mathematical and interpretational issues encountered in the canonical and path integral formulations of quantum theories. It provides an equivalent formulation of quantum theories, but substantiates it with a mathematically rigorous stochastic interpretation by means of a stochastic quantization prescription.

The spectral theory of linear operators plays a key role in the mathematical formulation of quantum theory. Furthermore, such a rigorous mathematical foundation leads to a more profound insight into the nature of quantum mechanics. This textbook provides a concise and comprehensible introduction to the spectral theory of (unbounded) self-adjoint operators and its application in quantum dynamics.