Phy5670

Welcome to the Quantum Mechanics A PHY5645 Fall2008/2009

Schrodinger equation. The most fundamental equation of quantum mechanics which describes the rule according to which a state $|\Psi \rangle$ evolves in time.

This is the first semester of a two-semester graduate level sequence, the second being PHY5646 Quantum B. Its goal is to explain the concepts and mathematical methods of Quantum Mechanics, and to prepare a student to solve quantum mechanics problems arising in different physical applications. The emphasis of the courses is equally on conceptual grasp of the subject as well as on problem solving. This sequence of courses builds the foundation for more advanced courses and graduate research in experimental or theoretical physics.

The key component of the course is the collaborative student contribution to the course Wiki-textbook. Each team of students is responsible for BOTH writing the assigned chapter AND editing chapters of others.

Team assignments: Fall 2009 student teams

Fall 2009 Midterm is October 15

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Outline of the course:

Physical Basis of Quantum Mechanics

Basic concepts and theory of motion in QM

In Quantum Mechanics, all of the information of the system of interest is contained in a wavefunction , $\Psi \,\!$. Physical properties of the system such as position, linear and angular momentum, energy, etc. can be represented via linear operators, called observables. These observables are a complete set of commuting Hermitian operators, which means that the common eigenstates (in the case of quantum mechanics, the wavefunctions) of these Hermitian operators form an orthonormal basis. Through these mathematical observables, a set of corresponding physical