[Introduction and General
Format|Syllabus]
[Problem Sets|
Suggested Reading]
[Offices Hours; Grader|
[Lecture Notes|
Random Information]
We will meet in Smith 1180 on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30 to 3:18, and in McPherson 1021 on Fridays from 1:30 to 2:18 and 2:30 to 3:18.
Grades will be based on one midterm (25%), a final (50%), and homework (25%). In calculating the homework grade, I will discard the problem set with the lowest score and compute a percentage based on the remainder.
The midterm will be held on Friday, November 7. Details will be announced shortly.
The final will probably be held at the time indicated in the master schedule.
Besides the principal textbook and recommended text, I will be drawing some material from various other books. Some good supplementary textbooks are the following:
``Quantum Mechanics,'' third edition, by Eugen Merzbacher (Wiley, New York, 1998).
``Modern Quantum Mechanics,'' second edition, by J. J. Sakurai (Addison-Wesley, New York, 1994).
``Quantum Mechanics, Non-Relativistic Theory,'' by E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau (vol. 3 of Course of Theoretical Physics), third edition (Butterworth-Heineman, Oxford, 1977-2003).
``Quantum Mechanics,'' (two volumes), by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Bernard Diu, and Franck Laloe (Wiley, New York, 1977). I expect to take occasional lecture material from this book.
``Quantum Mechanics,'' (two volumes bound as one), by Albert Messiah.
``Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (2nd Edition)'' by David J. Griffiths (Prentice-Hall, 1994). Commonly used undergraduate text.
``Quantum Mechanics: Fundamentals,'' by Kurt Gottfried and Tung-Mow Yan (Advanced Book Classics). Old but still useful.
``Quantum Mechanics for Scientists and Engineers,'' by David A. B. Miller (Cambridge U. Press, 2008). New book for advanced undergrads and grad students. Includes several useful applications (quantum mechanics of crystalline materials, density matrix, quantum information theory and quantum computing).
During fall, I hope to cover all of the following: a mathematical introduction (linear vector spaces, bra-ket notation, etc.), postulates of quantum mechanics and Schrodinger's equation, one dimensional problems, multiparticle systems, symmetry, orbital angular momentum, and three-dimensional problems (mainly central potentials and the hydrogen atom). This corresponds roughly to parts of chapters 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of Shankar. I will postpone path integrals (chap. 8) till a later quarter. The syllabi for winter and spring are not decided, but will probably be similar to those given in the course catalog.
Note: a good online math reference is http://mathworld.wolfram.com, which has lots of analysis, plus a great deal of information about special functions. Two good books are "Tables of Integrals, Series, and Products," 6th ed., by Gradshteyn, Ryzhik, Jeffrey, and Zwillinger (Academic, San Diego, 2000), and "Mathematical Methods for Physicists," by Arfken, Weber, and Weber (Academic, San Diego, 2001).
I plan to have weekly problem sets, due on Wednesdays by 11:59 PM. If possible, turn in the problem sets into the mailbox of the grader in PRB. Alternately, you may turn them into my box, turn them in during class, hand them to me in my office, or slip them under my door (2048PRB) if I am not there.
In general, I do not object if you discuss the problems with one another while working on them. However, you should write up your solutions independently.
oProblem Set 1.
oSolutions to PS 1.
oProblem Set 2.
oSolutions to PS 2.
oProblem Set 3.
oSolutions to PS 3.
oProblem Set 4.
oSolutions to PS 4.
oProblem Set 5
oSolutions to PS 5. Note: The solution to problem 5.2.2(b) is not correct; a correct solution will be provided in class today (Friday, Oct. 31) or Monday.
oProblem Set 6
oSolutions to PS 6.
oProblem Set 7
oSolutions to PS 7.
oProblem Set 8
oSolutions to PS 8.
oProblem Set 9
oSolutions to PS 9.
I will not have any required reading. However, I will try to suggest sections of the text to be read before or after my lectures.
Note: the material of Chapter 11 (Symmetries...) will not be discussed this quarter. I will cover parts of chapter 11 next quarter.
My office is Room 2048 of the Physics Research Building. My office telephone no. is 292-8140 and my email address is stroud@mps.ohio-state.edu. Office hours are Monday and Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 and by appointment. The grader is Advait Nagarkar (nagarkar.2@osu.edu); his office is PRB 3023, and his office hour is Th from 3 to 4. Please contact him if you have any questions about the homework grading.
oFirst set of lecture notes (through Monday, Sept. 29).
oSecond set of lecture notes (more on bra-ket notation, infinite-dimensional vector spaces, X and D operators, quick review of classical mechanics).
oThird set of lecture notes (qualitative ideas of quantum mechanics, postulates of quantum mechanics, Schrodinger equation, x and p basis, x and p operators.
oFourth set of lecture notes (free particle, evolution operator, particle in a box, probability current density, finite square well, transmission through barrier, several theorems including Ehrenfest's theorem. Note: an extra page (p. 204) has been accidentally included in these notes. Please ignore it.
oFifth set of lecture notes (harmonic oscillator, mainly in 1D; raising and lowering operators; systems with N degrees of freedom; Heisenberg uncertainty principle; minimum-uncertainty wave packet; group velocity of a wave packet).
oSixth set of lecture notes (systems with N degrees of freedom, center of mass coordinates, direct product Hilbert space, two particles in 1D, one particle in 2D, 2D harmonic oscillator, molecular vibrations, particle in an N-dimensional box, identical particles, bosons and fermions, ``tensor products'' of state spaces, complete sets of commuting observables, angular momentum operators, 3D Schrodinger with a central potential)
oSeventh set of lecture notes (hydrogen atom, more on spherical harmonics, two-dimensional problems, delta function potential again, coupled harmonic oscillators, infinite chain of oscillators)
oEighth set of lecture notes (Hamiltonian in the presence of a vector potential; free charged particle in a magnetic field; Landau levels).
These are posted for your convenience. I haven't edited them and they are not guaranteed to be error-free.
oAlbert Einstein
oPaul Adrien Maurice Dirac
oCharles Hermite
oMax Planck
oNiels Bohr
o Werner Heisenberg
oErwin Schrodinger
o Schrodinger's cat