Applied Quantum Mechanics

Oberlin College Physics 412

Syllabus for Spring 2012

Teacher: Dan Styer, Wright 215, 775-8183, Dan.Styer@oberlin.edu
home telephone 281-1348 (2:30 pm to 9:00 pm only).

Office hours: Tuesday, 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm; Friday, 10:00 am to 11:00 am; or by appointment.
My schedule grid (PDF).

Meeting times: This is a two-credit-hour, first-half-of-the-semester module course. Class: MWF at 11:00 am. Conference: Wednesday at noon. Wright Laboratory room 114.

Course web site: http://www.oberlin.edu/physics/dstyer/AppliedQM. I will post handouts, problem assignments, and model solutions here.

Textbook: David J. Griffiths, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics. (Errata for this book.)

Topics:
This course treats atomic, molecular, and optical physics, including:

Atoms
Diatomic molecules
The quasiclassical (WKB) approximation
Time-dependent perturbation theory
The interaction of matter with radiation
Scattering (if time permits)
Lasers (if time permits)
Quantum computers (if time permits)

Exams, homework, grading: Problem assignments will be distributed on each Friday and will be due in class the following Friday; late papers will be accepted only in cases of illness. The one assignment (announced in advance) will be an unlimited-time, no collaboration, take-home exam. When writing your solutions, describe (in words) the thought that went into your work as well as describing (in equations) the mathematical manipulations involved. Anyone earning a final score of 50% or lower will not receive credit for this course.

Collaboration and references: I encourage you to collaborate or to seek printed help in working the problems, but the final write-up must be entirely your own: you may not copy word for word or equation for equation. When you do obtain outside help you must acknowledge it. (E.g. "By integrating Griffiths equation [5.96] I find that..." or "Employing the substitution u = sin(x) (suggested by Carol Hall)..." or even "In working these problems I benefited from discussions with Mike Fisher and Jim Newton.") Such an acknowledgment will never lower your grade; it is required as a simple matter of intellectual fairness.

Bibliography

The following books are on reserve in the Science Library: (They are located on shelves along the south wall, not far to your right when you enter, near some comfortable chairs to encourage browsing.)

David J. Griffiths, Introduction to quantum mechanics [QC174.12.G75 1995]

L.D. Landau and E.M. Lifshitz, Quantum mechanics, non-relativistic theory [530.123L231Q]

H. Haken and H.C. Wolf, The physics of atoms and quanta [QC173.H17513 1994]

H. Haken, Light [QC355.2.H33]

P.W. Milonni and J.H. Eberly, Lasers [QC688.M55 1988]

George Greenstein and Arthur G. Zajonc, The quantum challenge: modern research on the foundations of quantum mechanics [QC174.12.G73 1997]

A. Zee, Quantum field theory in a nutshell [QC174.45 .Z44 2003]

Kurt Gottfried and Victor F. Weisskopf, Concepts of particle physics (in two volumes) [QC793.2.G68 1984]

Michael A. Nielsen and Isaac L. Chuang, Quantum computation and quantum information [QA76.889.N54 2000]
(See also errata at http://www.squint.org/qci/.)