Quantum mechanics : theory . Quantum mechanics : applications

Ajoy Kumar Ghatak, S. Lokanathan

Nelson Enrique Bolivar, Gabriel Abellán

This volume will act as a guide through the various aspects of quantum mechanics. It not only covers the basics but also addresses new themes developed in the field of quantum mechanics in recent years. These include quantum mechanics in relation to electronics, quantum dots, spintronics, cryptography, and other more theoretical aspects, such as the path integral formulation and supersymmetric quantum mechanics. The volume presents a number of mathematical tools and physical consequences derived from quantum mechanics. The starting point of the volume is a very brief review of the phenomenology associated with the origins of quantum theory, as the branch of science was understood in the beginning of the 20th century, leading to an interpretation of the results at that time. Key features: • Provides understanding and demystification of the quantum theory • Presents applications to information theory and encryption • Introduces applications to medicine, in both treatment and diagnosis • Covers applications to modern communications systems • Looks at the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics, its reality, and its perception • Describes the application to the basics of solid state devices

Samina Masood

This chapter reviews the core concepts of quantum mechanics and the scope of its applications. Topics include particle dynamics in various potentials, quantum tunneling phenomena, and optical properties such as reflection, refraction, and transmission. Perturbation theory and scattering theory are briefly explored. Additionally, the application of Lagrangian formalism to quantum mechanics is introduced. This formalism provides a pathway to incorporate relativity in quantum mechanics in later chapters. A discussion of the limitations of quantum mechanics lays the foundation for quantum field theory.

Miguel A. Alonso, Henry S. Valk

John F. Dawson

Jeremiah James, Christian Joas

As part of an attempt to establish a new understanding of the earliest applications of quantum mechanics and their importance to the overall development of quantum theory, this paper reexamines the role of research on molecular structure in the transition from the so-called old quantum theory to quantum mechanics and in the two years immediately following this shift (1926–1928). We argue on two bases against the common tendency to marginalize the contribution of these researches. First, because these applications addressed issues of longstanding interest to physicists, which they hoped, if not expected, a complete quantum theory to address, and for which they had already developed methods under the old quantum theory that would remain valid under the new mechanics. Second, because generating these applications was one of, if not the, principal means by which physicists clarified the unity, generality, and physical meaning of quantum mechanics, thereby reworking the theory into its now commonly recognized form, as well as developing an understanding of the kinds of predictions it generated and the ways in which these differed from those of the earlier classical mechanics. More broadly, we hope with this article to provide a new viewpoint on the importance of problem solving to scientific research and theory construction, one that might complement recent work on its role in science pedagogy.