Physics 4810/6810

Introductory Quantum Mechanics

Syllabus

Topics:

1. Review of the breakdown of classical physics.
2. Introduction to wave mechanics and the Schrödinger equation.
3. Mathematical preliminaries: Fourier transforms; Dirac delta function.
4. The motion of a wave packet.
5. Eigenvalue equations and expectation values.
6. One-dimensional problems.
7. Dirac notation.
8. Operator algebra and the Uncertainty Principle.
9. Two degrees of freedom.
10. Angular momentum.
11. Central potentials.
12. The hydrogen atom.
13. Matrix representations and spin angular momentum.
14. Angular momentum addition.
15. Approximation methods: perturbation theory, variation method.

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