Quantum Mechanics

Description

Designed for a two-semester advanced undergraduate or graduate level course, this distinctive and modern textbook provides students with the physical intuition and mathematical skills to tackle even complex problems in quantum mechanics with ease and fluency. Beginning with a detailed introduction to quantum states and Dirac notation, the book then develops the overarching theoretical framework of quantum mechanics, before explaining physical quantum mechanical properties such as angular momentum and spin. Symmetries and groups in quantum mechanics, important components of current research, are covered at length. The second part of the text focuses on applications, and includes a detailed chapter on quantum entanglement, one of the most exciting modern applications of quantum mechanics, and of key importance in quantum information and computation. Numerous exercises are interspersed throughout the text, expanding upon key concepts and further developing students' understanding. A fully worked solutions manual and lecture slides are available for instructors.

Arjun Berera is Professor in Physics at the University of Edinburgh. He held research positions in the US before joining the faculty at Edinburgh. His research is focused on quantum field theory and statistical physics, and he has published extensively in these areas. He has over two decades of teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels across a range of courses, including quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. Luigi Del Debbio is Professor in Physics at the University of Edinburgh. He has held research positions in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and CERN, before joining the faculty at Edinburgh. His research is centred on non-perturbative aspects of field theories and their application to particle physics. He has extensive teaching experience at both graduate and undergraduate level and has been the Programme Coordinator for the Mathematical Physics degree at Edinburgh for a number of years.

'Berera and Del Debbio do a wonderful job of walking the reader through the mathematics of quantum theory, never shying away from the necessary complexities while keeping things as simple as they can be.' David Tong, University of Cambridge 'Today's quantum mechanics students should learn not only the harmonic oscillator and the hydrogen atom, but also entanglement and quantum information. This book treats the old and the new with great clarity, including a first look at quantum computation through the Deutsch and Grover algorithms. Another highlight is the collection of well-crafted problems.' Matthew Reece, Harvard University 'This text promises to be useful to a wide audience, from intermediate-level undergraduates to beginning graduate students. It is pedagogical and rather complete, and attempts to guide along readers with different backgrounds via gentle yet precise mathematical asides. The chapter on quantum entanglement is the most comprehensive and complete discussion of the topic in a broad quantum mechanics textbook and will play an important role in introducing twenty-first-century undergraduates to the contemporary and rapidly growing field of quantum computing.' Andre de Gouvea, Northwestern University 'Quantum mechanics is difficult to teach as it defies intuitions of everyday experience. The textbook by Berera and Del Debbio grounds the subject by laying its mathematical foundations first, giving students a coherent framework distilled from a century of teaching experience. Filled with helpful exercises and modern topics including quantum information theory, this book would be an excellent text for both undergraduate and graduate courses.' Maxim Lavrentovich, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 'One of the best features of this book is the substantial chapter on quantum entanglement, quantum computing and information theory (Bell's inequality, no-cloning theorem, quantum teleportation). It is based on early introduction of the mathematical foundations and Dirac notation. Beyond the standard topics, students will appreciate the inclusion of symmetry groups, applications involving multi-electron systems, the WKB(J) method, the discussion of the Dirac equation, and an in-depth treatment of quantum scattering.' Russell Herman, University of North Carolina 'A concise yet complete introduction to quantum mechanics at the undergraduate level. The authors do a great job of exploring the formal and qualitative aspects of the theory, as well as more modern topics of interest such as quantum computation.' Christopher Aubin, Fordham University 'Arjun Berera and Luigi Del Debbio's Quantum Mechanics is an exceptional textbook. It, of course, offers superb coverage of the requisite material for a standard two-semester upper-level undergraduate quantum mechanics (QM) course. Nonetheless, the textbook is much richer than that. Two features make it unique: Chapter 1, 'Stories and Thoughts about Quantum Mechanics', presents a detailed and lively history of 'the tortuous path that led to the formation of the theory as we know it'. This reading both is entertaining and sets the groundwork for the chapters that follow. Also of special note is Chapter 15, 'Quantum Entanglement'. While quantum entanglement has long raised theoretical questions regarding freedom and the nature of reality, within the last two decades its applications have burst forth not just in physics, but also in engineering, computing, encryption and communications. Through very informative chapter readings and well-chosen problems, students will master associated key concepts, such as calculating and interpreting Bell's inequality; information theory and Shannon and von Neumann entropies; the no-cloning theorem, quantum teleportation and superdense coding; and quantum register and logic gates, Deutsch's algorithm and Grover's algorithm. This textbook sets the standard for quantum entanglement coverage. I ardently promote Arjun Berera and Luigi Del Debbio's Quantum Mechanics.' Gerald B. Cleaver, Baylor University 'Lucid introduction to a complex subject accessible to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in science and engineering. The authors combine physical insight and mathematical rigour in explaining abstract concepts with a variety of examples. Covers all the quintessential topics in the field, as well as a valuable modern introduction to quantum entanglement.' Kaladi Babu, Oklahoma State University