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Quantum Mechanics I - PHYS 430

Course Information, Fall 2006

CONTENT: This is the first semester of a two-semester course on quantum mechanics. It will cover

A review (or, for some, an introduction) to Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics.
The historical background: Black-body radiation, the photo-electric effect, the Compton effect, electron diffraction.
The Bohr atom, the de Broglie relations, development of the Schrodinger equation, Ehrenfest's Principle.
Hilbert Space, bra-ket notation, the Dirac delta function. Hermitian operators and observables. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
Rectangular potentials, bound states, tunneling, and scattering in one dimension.
The harmonic oscillator.
Symmetry and degeneracy.
The quantization of angular momentum.
The Hydrogen atom.

Three lectures, on average, will be devoted to each of the topics listed. As in any physics course, you will be asked to demonstrate your mastery of these topics by solving quantitative problems in each area, both on homework sets and on the exams.

By the end of the course, you should be familiar with the basic principles of quantum theory, and be able to solve the Schrodinger equation (as well as computing observables of interest) in elementary one, two, and three-dimensional potentials.

PREREQUISITES: Phys 320 (Modern Physics), Phys 360 (Electromagnetism), Math 374 (Adv. Calculus) and Math 376 OR 245 (Diff. Equations).

TEXT: The textbook is my lecture notes, which can be purchased (cheaply, I hope) from the Physics and Astronomy Club during the second week of class.

COURSE ORGANIZATION:

Lectures: Tu and Th 12:35-13:50 in HH 667.

Homework: There will be eight homework assignments to be handed in during the semester. Homework is expected to be turned in on time. Although these assignments don't count heavily in the grading, it is essential that you do them. Experience shows that students who ignore the homework assignments do very poorly on the exams. Homework solutions will be made available periodically, online.

Exams: There will be two take-home exams: a midterm and a final.

Grading:

Homework 10%

Midterm 40%

Final 50%