The aim of relativistic quantum mechanics is to describe the finer details of the structure of atoms and molecules, where relativistic effects become nonnegligible. It is a sort of intermediate realm, between the familiar nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and fully relativistic quantum field theory, and thus it lacks the simplicity and elegance of both. Yet it is a necessary tool, mostly for quantum chemists. Pilkuhn's book offers to this audience an up-to-date survey of these methods, which is quite welcome since most previous textbooks are at least ten years old. The point of view of the author is to start immediately in the relativistic domain, following the lead of Maxwell's equations rather than classical mechanics, and thus to treat the nonrelativistic version as an approximation. Thus Chapter 1 takes off from Maxwell's equations (in the noncovariant Coulomb gauge) and gradually derives the basic aspects of Quantum Mechanics in a rather pedestrian way (states and observables, Hilbert space, operators, quantum measurement, scattering,. Chapter 2 starts with the Lorentz transformations, then continues with the Pauli spin equation and the Dirac equation and some of their applications (notably the hydrogen atom). Chapter 3 is entitled `Quantum fields and particles', but falls short of treating quantum field theory properly: only creation/annihilation operators are considered, for a particle in a box. The emphasis is on two-electron states (the Pauli principle, the Foldy--Wouthuysen elimination of small components of Dirac spinors, Breit projection operators. Chapter 4 is devoted to scattering theory and the description of relativistic bound states. Chapter 5, finally, covers hyperfine interactions and radiative corrections. As we said above, relativistic quantum mechanics is by nature limited in scope and rather inelegant and Pilkuhn's book is no exception. The notation is often heavy (mostly noncovariant) and the mathematical level rather low. The central topic is the description of atoms and molecules, including relativistic effects. The author fulfils this program in a reasonable way and offers a valuable tool to the targeted audience. I am not overly enthusiastic about the end result, but I might be prejudiced. Clearly, going further would require the full power of quantum field theory, but this is clearly beyond the scope of the book.
The aim of relativistic quantum mechanics is to describe the finer details of the structure of atoms and molecules, where relativistic effects become nonnegligible. It is a sort of intermediate realm, between the familiar nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and fully relativistic quantum field theory, and thus it lacks the simplicity and elegance of both. Yet it is a necessary tool, mostly for quantum chemists. Pilkuhn's book offers to this audience an up-to-date survey of these methods, which is quite welcome since most previous textbooks are at least ten years old. The point of view of the author is to start immediately in the relativistic domain, following the lead of Maxwell's equations rather than classical mechanics, and thus to treat the nonrelativistic version as an approximation. Thus Chapter 1 takes off from Maxwell's equations (in the noncovariant Coulomb gauge) and gradually derives the basic aspects of Quantum Mechanics in a rather pedestrian way (states and observables, Hilbert space, operators, quantum measurement, scattering,. Chapter 2 starts with the Lorentz transformations, then continues with the Pauli spin equation and the Dirac equation and some of their applications (notably the hydrogen atom). Chapter 3 is entitled `Quantum fields and particles', but falls short of treating quantum field theory properly: only creation/annihilation operators are considered, for a particle in a box. The emphasis is on two-electron states (the Pauli principle, the Foldy--Wouthuysen elimination of small components of Dirac spinors, Breit projection operators. Chapter 4 is devoted to scattering theory and the description of relativistic bound states. Chapter 5, finally, covers hyperfine interactions and radiative corrections. As we said above, relativistic quantum mechanics is by nature limited in scope and rather inelegant and Pilkuhn's book is no exception. The notation is often heavy (mostly noncovariant) and the mathematical level rather low. The central topic is the description of atoms and molecules, including relativistic effects. The author fulfils this program in a reasonable way and offers a valuable tool to the targeted audience. I am not overly enthusiastic about the end result, but I might be prejudiced. Clearly, going further would require the full power of quantum field theory, but this is clearly beyond the scope of the book.
This book covers the entire span of quantum mechanics whose developments have taken place during the early part of the twentieth century up till the present day. We start with the Rutherford-Bohr model of the atom followed by Schrodinger's wave mechanics with its application to the solution of calculating the energy spectrum of a particle in a box, the harmonic oscillator and finally the hydrogen atom. Heisenberg's matrix mechanics and its duality with Schrodinger's wave mechanics, quantum mechanics in the interaction picture. Dirac's relativistic theory of the electron exhibiting the spin of the electron as a relativistic effect when it interacts with an external electromagnetic field. Feynman's path integral approach to non-relativistic quantum mechanics with is a marvellous intuitive interpretation as a sum over paths and how classical mechanics is obtained from its limit as Planck' constant tends to zero, methods for computing the spectra of the Dirac Hamiltonian in a radial potential, quantum field theory as developed by Feynman, Schwinger, Tomonaga and Dyson for describing the interaction between electrons, positrons, and photons via propagators using both the operator theoretic expansions and Feynman's path integral. We also introduce time independent and time dependent perturbation theory in quantum mechanics with applications to quantum gate design for quantum computers forming a major part of the research conducted by the author's research group, Quantum noise introduced into the Schrodinger and Dirac's equation based on the Hudson-Parthasarathy quantum stochastic calculus in Boson Fock space, scattering theory and wave operators with applications to quantum gate design, some aspects of second quantization like the interpretation of Boson Fock space in terms of harmonic oscillator algebras and the BCS theory of superconductivity, Wigner-Mackey-Frobenius theory of induced representations of a group with applications to Wigner's theory of particle classification, Dirac's equation in a gravitational field and Yang-Mills non-Abelian gauge theories with application to the construction of unified quantum field theories and finally, the more recent theory of super-symmetry which is a Boson-Fermion unification theory. We have discussed the statistics of Boson's, Fermions and Maxwell-Boltzmann based on entropy maximization. The book is written in problem-solution format and it would be of use to physicists and engineers interested respectively in developing unified field theories and in the design of quantum gates. Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Up to this point, our study of quantum mechanics has concerned itself with the behaviour of particles that inhabit a Galilean spacetime. For many purposes, in atomic, molecular and condensed matter physics, this theory is quite adequate. We saw in earlier chapters, however, that our actual spacetime has a structure which is much closer to that of the Minkowski spacetime of special relativity and that more general structures must be considered when gravitational phenomena are significant. From a purely theoretical point of view, it is therefore important to formulate quantum theory in a way which is consistent with these more general spacetimes. The benefits of constructing a relativistic quantum theory actually go far beyond the aesthetic satisfaction of making our geometrical and quantummechanical reasoning compatible. For one thing, we shall discover that the relativistic theory provides a deeper understanding of spin and the distinction between fermions and bosons, which in the non-relativistic theory appear simply as facts of life that we must strive to accommodate. Also, of course, there are many situations in which relativistic effects become observable, for which nonrelativistic theory provides no explanation. The most obvious are high-energy scattering experiments, in which particles acquire kinetic energies comparable with or greater than their rest energies mc2, and the correct 4-momentum (3.34) must be used. There are, however, more subtle effects, such as the spin-orbit coupling that is essential for interpreting atomic spectra, which are also of relativistic origin.
We expose the Schrödinger quantum mechanics with traditional applications to Hydrogen atom. We discuss carefully the experimental and theoretical background for the introduction of the Schrödinger, Pauli and Dirac equations, as well as for the Maxwell equations. We explain in detail all basic theoretical concepts. We explain all details of the calculations and mathematical tools: Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalism for the systems with finite degree of freedom and for fields, Geometric Optics, the Hamilton-Jacobi equation and WKB approximation, Noether theory of invariants including the theorem on currents, four conservation laws (energy, momentum, angular momentum and charge), Lie algebra of angular momentum and spherical functions, scattering theory (limiting amplitude principle and limiting absorption principle), the Lienard-Wiechert formulas, Lorentz group and Lorentz formulas, Pauli theorem and relativistic covariance of the Dirac equation, etc. We give a detailed oveview of the conceptual development of the quantum mechanics, and expose main achievements of the ``old quantum mechanics'' in the form of exercises. One of our basic aim in writing this book, is an open and concrete discussion of the problem of a mathematical description of the following two fundamental quantum phenomena: i) Bohr's quantum transitions and ii) de Broglie's wave-particle duality. Both phenomena cannot be described by autonomous linear dynamical equations, and we give them a new mathematical treatment related with recent progress in the theory of global attractors of nonlinear hyperbolic PDEs.
An accessible introduction to advanced quantum theory, this graduate-level textbook focuses on its practical applications rather than mathematical technicalities. It treats real-life examples, from topics ranging from quantum transport to nanotechnology, to equip students with a toolbox of theoretical techniques. Beginning with second quantization, the authors illustrate its use with different condensed matter physics examples. They then explain how to quantize classical fields, with a focus on the electromagnetic field, taking students from Maxwell's equations to photons, coherent states and absorption and emission of photons. Following this is a unique master-level presentation on dissipative quantum mechanics, before the textbook concludes with a short introduction to relativistic quantum mechanics, covering the Dirac equation and a relativistic second quantization formalism. The textbook includes 70 end-of-chapter problems. Solutions to some problems are given at the end of the chapter and full solutions to all problems are available for instructors at www.cambridge.org/9780521761505.
Over the course of the past two to three decades, new tools of presentation and mathematical treatment have emerged and the subject matter of quantum mechanics has gone through significant changes. A Textbook on Modern Quantum Mechanics presents the selected elementary, intermediate, and advance topics with rejuvenated approach to the subject matter. Newly merged topics from contemporary physics and chemistry are included in the text as well as solved examples. The book covers: (i) fundamental discoveries that are the foundation of modern quantum mechanics; (ii) solution of Schrödinger’s wave equation for 1D problems and their importance; (iii) matrix and vector formulation of quantum mechanics; (iv) transformations, symmetries, and conservation laws; (v) angular and spin momenta; (vi) solution of Schrödinger equation for central potentials; (vii) time-independent perturbation theory, variational method and WKB approximation; (viii) quantum theory of scattering; (xi) many-particle systems and their quantum mechanical treatments; (x) time-dependent perturbations and the interaction of fields with matter; (xi) relativistic quantum mechanics; and (xii) quantization of fields and the second quantization. Key Features: It provides everything a student needs to know for succeeding at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate studies. It covers most of the topics that are taught under (a) elementary, (b) intermediate, and (c) advance courses of quantum mechanics at universities and colleges. It has detailed and elegant mathematical treatment with contemporary style of interpretation and presentation in simple English. Solved examples and unsolved exercises that are part of each chapter to consolidate the readers' understanding of fundamental concepts. The subject matter of the book is well tested on the students taught by the author over a period of 30 years. This is a valuable textbook for students pursuing Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, and materials science in India, South Asian countries, the United States, and Europe.
Scope of this book Quantum mechanics is a difficult subject, and this book is intended to help the reader overcome the main difficulties in the way to understanding it. The first part of the book, Chs. 2–16, contains a systematic presentation of the basic principles of quantum theory, along with a number of examples which illustrate how these principles apply to particular quantum systems. The applications are, for the most part, limited to toy models whose simple structure allows one to see what is going on without using complicated mathematics or lengthy formulas. The principles themselves, however, are formulated in such a way that they can be applied to (almost) any nonrelativistic quantum system. In the second part of the book, Chs. 17–25, these principles are applied to quantum measurements and various quantum paradoxes, subjects which give rise to serious conceptual problems when they are not treated in a fully consistent manner. The final chapters are of a somewhat different character. Chapter 26 on decoherence and the classical limit of quantum theory is a very sketchy introduction to these important topics along with some indication as to how the basic principles presented in the first part of the book can be used for understanding them. Chapter 27 on quantum theory and reality belongs to the interface between physics and philosophy and indicates why quantum theory is compatible with a real world whose existence is not dependent on what scientists think and believe, or the experiments they choose to carry out. The Bibliography contains references for those interested in further reading or in tracing the origin of some of the ideas presented in earlier chapters.