Interactive quantum-physics course with Mathematica

Roman Schmied

Viktorija Nađ

The purpose of creating interactive applets in the Wolfram Mathematica software package is to facilitate the mastery of the matter in the Introduction to Quantum Mechanics course and related courses for undergraduate Physics students. They contain diagrams describing the states of a quantum particle contained within an infinite potential well. We also use this model as an example to illustrate the differences between classical and quantum mechanics. In the first chapter we describe the states of a quantum particle in a one-dimensional infinite rectangular potential well. In the second chapter, we describe the states of a quantum particle in a two-dimensional rectangular potential well. In the third chapter, students have an insight into the program code.

Kenichi Konishi, Giampiero Paffuti

Abstract This book provides the reader with a contemporary and comprehensive introduction to Quantum Mechanics. It is suitable for beginners as well as for more advanced university students. Quantum mechanics is presented in a pedagogical fashion, with a clear logical organization. The various concepts and methods are introduced first in elementary terms, and later developed into more precise formulations. Systematic studies of approximation methods and the discussion of a wide class of physical applications follow. Part I of the book, together with the opening sections of Part II, provide adequate material for an introductory course of one semester at most universities. The rest of the book might be used in an advanced course on Quantum Mechanics. The basic material is fairly standard, even though some discussions such as those on general systems with time-dependent Hamiltonians, on metastable systems, as well as the discussions in some of the Complement sections, may not be found in other textbooks. The book also contains many original observations or new ways of illustrating even well-known subjects. In fact, the authors wish to convey in this book the sense of wonder in the logical simplicity and at the same time the beauty of subtle and far-reaching consequences of Quantum Mechanics, to young physics students in particular. Problem sets are provided at the end of each chapter, to be solved either analytically or by numerical methods. The solutions to both types of problems are given as separate pdf files or as Mathematica notebooks (there are 88 of them), all together on a CD accompanying the textbook. The presence of such a collection of numerical analyses enriches the main text and is one of the characteristic features of the book. With the many interesting systems discussed, the book will also be a useful reference for researchers and teachers. It provides the reader with a unique, enjoyable and rather complete textbook of Quantum Mechanics, destined to set a new standard for many years to come.

Andreas Dewanto, Yee‐Chia Yeo

James M. Feagin, Wolfgang Christian, G. A. Antonelli +2 more

John G. Wright, B. Sriram Shastry

We present a software package DiracQ, for use in quantum many-body Physics. It is designed for helping with typical algebraic manipulations that arise in quantum Condensed Matter Physics and Nuclear Physics problems, and also in some subareas of Chemistry. DiracQ is invoked within a Mathematica session, and extends the symbolic capabilities of Mathematica by building in standard commutation and anticommutation rules for several objects relevant in many-body Physics. It enables the user to carry out computations such as evaluating the commutators of arbitrary combinations of spin, Bose and Fermi operators defined on a discrete lattice, or the position and momentum operators in the continuum. Some examples from popular systems, such as the Hubbard model, are provided to illustrate the capabilities of the package.