Wave Mechanics; An Introductory Sketch.

Simon Friederich

This chapter reviews the quantum theoretical formalism and sketches its foundational problems. The main function of this chapter is to establish common ground for the interpretive discussions which follow, not to provide a comprehensive introduction to quantum theory. 6 Its first section recapitulates the essential aspects of the Hilbert space formalism of quantum mechanics, the second section covers the textbook account of measurement and measurement collapse, and the third and final section outlines the quantum theoretical treatment of many-component systems and explains the concept of quantum entanglement. Further introductory material is provided in the Appendices A, B, and C, all of which cover important no-go theorems for the interpretation of the theory. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

N. F. Mott

Hans Maassen

In this introductory course we sketch the framework of quantum probability in order to discuss open quantum systems, in particular the damped harmonic oscillator.

Walter Heinrich Heitler, Edward L. Hill

P. J. E. Peebles

Baldwin Robertson

The equivalence of the field operator formulation of quantum mechanics and ordinary wave mechanics is proved in an efficient and elementary way. The discussion proceeds algebraically from the (anti-) commutation relations, which the field operators are defined to satisfy. Although the paper is introductory and presumes only a knowledge of elementary wave mechanics, it is intended to cover all of the essential elements of the subject in a rigorous way.