Lectures on Quantum Mechanics

Steven Weinberg demonstrates his exceptional insight in this concise introduction to modern quantum mechanics for graduate students.

Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg combines his exceptional physical insight with his gift for clear exposition to provide a concise introduction to modern quantum mechanics. Ideally suited to a one-year graduate course, this textbook is also a useful reference for researchers. Readers are introduced to the subject through a review of the history of quantum mechanics and an account of classic solutions of the Schrödinger equation, before quantum mechanics is developed in a modern Hilbert space approach. The textbook covers many topics not often found in other books on the subject, including alternatives to the Copenhagen interpretation, Bloch waves and band structure, the Wigner Eckart theorem, magic numbers, isospin symmetry, the Dirac theory of constrained canonical systems, general scattering theory, the optical theorem, the 'in-in' formalism, the Berry phase, Landau levels, entanglement and quantum computing. Problems are included at the ends of chapters, with solutions available for instructors at www.cambridge.org/9781107028722.

Autorentext

Steven Weinberg is a member of the Physics and Astronomy Departments at the University of Texas, Austin. His research has covered a broad range of topics in quantum field theory, elementary particle physics and cosmology and has been honored with numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Physics, the National Medal of Science and the Heinemann Prize in Mathematical Physics. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, Britain's Royal Society and other academies in the US and abroad. The American Philosophical Society awarded him the Benjamin Franklin medal, with a citation that said he is 'considered by many to be the preeminent theoretical physicist alive in the world today'. His books for physicists include Gravitation and Cosmology, the three-volume work The Quantum Theory of Fields, and most recently, Cosmology. Educated at Cornell University, the University of Copenhagen and Princeton University, he also holds honorary degrees from sixteen other universities. He taught at Columbia University, the University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University where he was Higgins Professor of Physics before moving to Texas in 1982.

Klappentext

Nobel Laureate Weinberg demonstrates exceptional insight in this concise introduction to modern quantum mechanics for graduate students. Fully updated 2nd edition, with 6 new sections and major additions to existing topics.

Zusammenfassung
In this fully updated second edition, which includes six brand new sections and major additions to existing topics, Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg demonstrates exceptional insight into modern quantum mechanics. Ideally suited to a one-year graduate course, this textbook is a useful reference for researchers and features end of chapter problems.

Inhalt

Preface; Notation; 1. Historical introduction; 2. Particle states in a central potential; 3. General principles of quantum mechanics; 4. Spin; 5. Approximations for energy eigenstates; 6. Approximations for time-dependent problems; 7. Potential scattering; 8. General scattering theory; 9. The canonical formalism; 10. Charged particles in electromagnetic fields; 11. The quantum theory of radiation; 12. Entanglement; Author index; Subject index.