Author Profile

Richard Backard, Professor Emeritus, Physics Department University of California, Ph.D. at the University of Michigan also served as an Assistant Professor. After a postdoctoral appointment at the University of California he was appointed to the faculty in 1995. Fellowships and honors include: The Donald Sterling Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Fellow of the American Physical Society, Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, Fulbright Scholar and several visiting professorships at universities abroad. His research focuses on aspects of theoretical nuclear and particle physics using Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) to study fundamental nuclear reactions that may provide insight into phenomena ranging from the formation of nuclear matter to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model.

About The Book

Books on quantum mechanics can be grouped into two main categories: textbooks, where the focus is on the formalism, and purely problem-solving books, where the emphasis is on applications. While many fine textbooks on quantum mechanics exist, problem-solving books are far fewer. It is not our intention to merely add a text to either of these two lists. Our intention is to combine the two formats into a single text which includes the ingredients of both a textbook and a problem-solving book. Books in this format are practically nonexistent. This book was primarily written for graduate students who find themselves caught up in nano technology. It is a simple fact that the typical science education does not provide anywhere close to the amount of physics you will need to make sense out of the literature of your field. You can start from scratch as an undergraduate in the physics department, or you can read this book. This book provides a solid introduction to classical (i.e. nonrelativistic) quantum mechanics. It is intended to explain the ideas both rigorously and clearly. It follows a "just-in-time" learning approach. The mathematics is fully explained, but not emphasized. The intention is not to practice clever mathematics, but to understand quantum mechanics. The coverage is at the normal calculus and physics level of undergraduate students. If you did well in these courses, you should be able to understand the discussion, assuming that you start reading from the beginning. In particular, you simply cannot skip the short first chapter. There are some hints in the notations section, if you forgot some calculus. If you forgot some physics, just don't worry too much about it: quantum physics is so much different that even the most basic concepts need to be covered from scratch. Quantum Mechanics aims to give students a good understanding of how quantum mechanics describes the material world. It shows that the theory follows naturally from the use of probability amplitudes to derive probabilities. It stresses that stationary states are unphysical mathematical abstractions that enable us to solve the theory's governing equation, the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Every opportunity is taken to illustrate the emergence of the familiar classical, dynamical world through the quantum interference of stationary states. The text stresses the continuity between the quantum world and the classical world, which is merely an approximation to the quantum world. Quantum Mechanics: Concepts and Applications provides a clear, balanced and modern introduction to the subject. Written with the student's background and ability in mind the book takes an innovative approach to quantum mechanics by combining the essential elements of the theory with the practical applications: it is therefore both a textbook and a problem solving book in one self-contained volume. Carefully structured, the book starts with the experimental basis of quantum mechanics and then discusses its mathematical tools.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. The Experimental Foundation of Quantum Mechanics
2. Matter Waves
3. Some Simple Problems
4. Some Theorems and Definitions
5. The Hydrogen Atom
6. More Theorems
7. Atomic Physics
8. Light Emission
9. Matrix Mechanics
10. Stationary Perturbation Theory
11. Positronium
12. Time Dependent Perturbation Theory
13. Scattering
14. To New Frontiers
Bibliography
Index