PHY 465: Quantum Mechanics II, Spring 2019



Instructor:   Prof. Thomas Barthel
Lectures:   Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:05PM-4:20PM in Physics 205
Office hours:   Tuesdays 4:20PM-5:30PM and Fridays 10:30AM-11:30AM in Physics 287
Teaching assistant:   Moritz Binder (Physics 289)
Tutorials:   upon request
Grading:   problem sets (40%), midterm exam (20%), final exam (40%)


Synopsis

In this course, we are taking a stroll through the fascinating world of quantum mechanics. Deepening the understanding of quantum systems, the course also prepares for studies of quantum optics, quantum information, condensed matter physics, and quantum field theory.

Starting from a reminder on the basis of quantum mechanics, we will discuss the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics (due to Feynman), the semi-classical regime (WKB method), time-independent perturbation theory, time-dependent phenomena and approximations, composite quantum systems (generalized measurements, density matrices, quantum channels, decoherence, entanglement, Bell inequalities), systems of identical particles (fermions and bosons), and relativistic quantum physics. Nice examples and exercises will be used to illustrate these topics. Depending on the available time, we may add a few more topics like scattering theory and quantum algorithms.

Some knowledge of linear algebra will be needed. Knowledge corresponding to the course PHY 464 (Quantum Mechanics I) is expected, but I will also try to keep the course as self-contained as possible.


Lecture Notes

[Are provided on the Sakai site PHYSICS.465.01.Sp19.]


Homework

You are encouraged to discuss homework assignments with fellow students and to ask questions in the Sakai Forum or by email. But the written part of the homework must be done individually and cannot be a copy of another student's solution. (See the Duke Community Standard.)
Homework due dates are strict (for the good of all), i.e., late submissions are not accepted. If there are grave reasons, you can ask for an extension early enough before the due date.

[Problem sets are provided on the Sakai site PHYSICS.465.01.Sp19.]


Literature

Although it does not cover all topics of the course, I recommend the textbook
  • Shankar "Principles of Quantum Mechanics" 2nd Edition, Plenum Press (1994)
Further reading material will be provided on the Sakai site. Here, a choice of very good textbooks on quantum mechanics and more advanced topics:

Textbooks on quantum mechanics.
  • Sakurai "Modern Quantum Mechanics", Addison Wesley (1993)
  • Le Bellac "Quantum Physics", Cambridge University Press (2006)
  • Ballentine "Quantum Mechanics", World Scientific (1998)
  • Merzbacher "Quantum Mechanics" 3rd Edition, Wiley (1998)
  • Cohen-Tannoudji, Diu, Laloe "Quantum Mechanics", Wiley (1991, 1992)
  • Schwabl "Quantum Mechanics" 4th Edition, Springer (2007)
  • Gasiorowicz "Quantum Physics" 3rd Edition, Wiley (2003)
  • Galindo, Pascual "Quantum Mechanics I & II", Springer (1991)
More on identical particles and second quantization in books on quantum many-body physics.
  • Negele, Orland "Quantum Many-Particle Systems", Westview Press (1988, 1998)
  • Stoof, Gubbels, Dickerscheid "Ultracold Quantum Fields", Springer (2009)
Quantum information and computation.
  • Nielsen, Chuang "Quantum Computation and Quantum Information", Cambridge University Press (2000)
  • Preskill "Quantum Computation", Lecture Notes (2015)
  • Wilde "Quantum Information Theory" 2nd Edition, arXiv:1106.1445 (2016)
  • Bruss, Leuchs "Lectures on Quantum Information", Wiley (2007)


have a nice day!