PHY 212: Applications of Quantum Mechanics.

General Information

Prerequisites: PHY 211.

Instructor: Shailesh Chandrasekharan, Duke Phone: 660-2462, sch@phy.duke.edu.

Time and Place: Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8:30-9:45 am in Physics 154.

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10:00am-11:00am;

TAs:

• Dong Liu dl35@phy.duke.edu. Help Room : Mondays 3:30pm - 5:00pm in Room 299, Physics Bldg.
• Changchun Sun suncc@fel.duke.edu. Help Room : Fridays 12:30pm - 2:00pm in Room 204, Free Electron Laser Bldg.

Main Text: R. Shankar, Principles of Quantum Mechanics 2nd Ed.

Other suggested reference books:

• D.J. Griffiths, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics An elementary book for those of you who feel diffident with the main textbook to come up to speed.
• J. J. Sakurai, Modern Quantum Mechanics. This is another elementary and readable book.
• E. Merzbacher, Quantum Mechanics Another important book which we will refer to some times.

Grades: Grades will be assigned according to the following weighted average:

• Problem Sets: 40%
• Two Midterms: 15% each
• Final exam: 30%
• Midterm 1: Thursday, February 14, 8:30am - 9:45am
• Midterm 2: Tuesday, March 18, 8:30am - 9:45am
• Final Exam Time: Tuesday, April 29, 7:00pm-10:00pm

Policies:

• Problem sets will be assigned every Tuesday morning in the class. They will be due the following Tuesday in the class. Those who miss submitting the homework in class will not get any credit for that particular home work, unless a valid reason (like short term illness, or a family emergency, etc) is given to me by Monday morning through email. I expect you to finish a major part of the homework during the weekend.
• One of the lowest home work grades will be dropped while calculating the contribution to the final grade. So in other words you can miss submitting one home work if you wish. But it is in your best interest to do all home works.
• You are allowed to discuss the problems and approaches with others. But you are not allowed to copy solutions from others! After discussing, you should complete the homework by your own understanding and effort from beginning to end. Remember, you only learn if you struggle with the problems yourself. So do not let others solve the problems for you.
• Email will be used to disseminate information on problem set corrections, class schedule emergencies, etc. Please check regularly!

Syllabus

In this course we continue the study of quantum mechanics begun in PHY 211. We will apply what we have learned to actual physical systems . In order to do so we will learn new approximation techniques that will help solve problems. Topics to be covered may include (not necessarily in this order)

• Symmetries and their consequences
• Time Independent Perturbation Theory and Applications
• Addition of Angular Momentum
• Identical Particles: Multielectron Atoms and Molecules.
• Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory.
• Interaction of Matter with Electromagnetic Fields.
• Scattering theory.
• The WKB Approximation.
• Applications in Condensed Matter, Nuclear and Particle Physics.

This is a basic selection, other topics as well as emphasis can and will be adjusted to student interest.

Weekly Updates

Problem Sets

set 1 , solution to set 1

set 2 , solution to set 2

set 3 , solution to set 3

set 4 , solution to set 4

Solution to Problem 15.3.3 in Shankar

set 5 , solution to set 5

set 6 , solution to set 6

set 7 , solution to set 7

set 8 , solution to set 8

set 9 , solution to set 9

set 10 , solution to set 10

set 11 , solution to set 11

Midterm Exams

• First Midterm solutions
• Second Midterm solutions

  Announcements:

  • The lecture on January 10th is cancelled. So the First class will be on January 15.