640-341 Quantum Mechanics

Credit Points:

Coordinator:

Prerequisite/s:

Timetable:

Contact:

Objectives:

By the completion of this course the student should:

• comprehend many aspects of advanced quantum mechanics;

• be able to apply quantum mechanical theory to simple physical systems;

• appreciate the central role that this core area of modern physics plays in our understanding of the world.

Content:

Wave Mechanics: review of one-particle Schrödinger equation and simple applications; Hermitian operators, eigenstates and eigenvalues, continuous spectrum and Dirac delta-function, coordinate and momentum spaces.

Central Forces and Angular Momentum: orbital angular momentum, commutation relations, spherical harmonics: central force problem, radial wave equation; hydrogen atom.

Spin: Stern-Gerlach experiment, matrix theory of spin, total angular momentum.

Principles of Quantum Mechanics: state vectors, bra and ket notation, operators, eigenvectors; wave functions and spinors as inner products of state vectors; time evolution; algebraic approach to harmonic oscillator.

Introduction to Quantum Scattering: cross sections and frames of reference; potential scattering; applications.

Assessment:

Prescribed Texts:

• Bransden B H and Joachain C J., Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 1990 Longmans.