Table VOLUME | Directions for Use... 0 ee Introduction... 2. 2 ee Bee ee eee ee Chapter | Waves and particles. Introduction to the fundamental ideas of quantum mechanics.......... - A. Electromagnetic waves and photons... . 0s B. Material particles and matter waves... . . . - : C. Quantum description of a particle ; wave packets. . . . D. Particle in a time-independent scalar potential Complements of chapter | READER'S GUIDE. . © 6 6 ee ee ee Ax: Order of magnitude of the wavelengths associated with material particles... ee wee Constraints imposed by the uncertainty relations . : The uncertainty relations and atomic parameters: An experiment illustrating the uncertainty relation : A. simple treatment of a two-dimensional wave packet... . - The relation between one- and three-dimensional problems. . . . : One-dimensional Gaussian wave packet: spreading of the wave packet. te ee : Stationary states of a particle in one-dimensional square potentials Behavior of a wave packet at a potential step. 1 Exercises. 00.2 ee ee ee < aw 10 18 21 31 4 a 45 47 33 37 61 67 0 86TABLE Chapter II Complements of chapter Il Chapter Ill The mathematical tools of quantum mechanics ... 91 ‘A. One-particle wave function space... 02... 2s ee 94 B. State space. Dirac notation... - +++ +--+ +. 108 C. Representations in the state space... ... +++ +++ 121 D. Eigenvalue equations. Observables. . . . - 132 E. Two important examples of representations and observables... . 144 F. Tensor product of state spaces... 0. ese ee ee 153 READER'S GUIDE... 2. 6 6 ee ee eee te 164 The Schwarz inequality. . 165 : Review of some useful properties of linear operators... . . 166 Unitary operators... ....-.- tees 176 A more detailed study of the {|x} and {|p } representations 182 Some general properties of two observables, Q and P, whose Complements of chapter Ill ‘commutator is equal to ih... 1 es 187 The parity operator... 2. 1. 6 ee ee . 192 An application of the properties of the tensor product : the two- dimensional infinite well... ee 199 Hy: Exercises. 2. eee 203 The postulates of quantum mechanics ...... . 21 A. Introduction 00 213, B. Statement of the postulates... . 1. +++ +e vee 214 C. The physical interpretation of the postulates concerning observables and their measurement... 2... + see 2S D. The physical implications of the Schrodinger equation... . . - 236 E. The superposition principle and physical predictions... . . . . 252 READER'S GUIDE... . eee 267 Particle in an infinite potential well . 269 : Study of the probability current in some special cases... . . . 280 Cyn: Root-mean-square deviations of two conjugate observables. . . 286 Measurements bearing on only one part of a physical system. . 290 The density operator. . . . 295 The evolution operator. . . 308 The Schrodinger and Heisenberg pictures... 1.2... « 312 Gauge invariance... es 315 Propagator for the Schrédinger equation.......... ' 329 Unstable states. Lifetime. 337 Ly: Exercises ulTABLE Myy: Bound states of a particle in a “potential well” of arbitrary shape. 351 Nyy: Unbound states of a particle in the presence of a potential well or barrier of arbitrary shape. 359 mu: Quantum properties of a particle in a one-dimensional periodic Structure ee eee 367 Chapter IV Application of postulates to simpl and two-level systems................. 385, A. Spin 1/2 particle: quantization of the angular momentum. 387 B. Illustration of the postulates in the case of a spin 1/2 395 C. General study of two-level systems... oe 405 Complements of chapter IV READER'S GUIDE... 416 The Pauli matrices. 417 Diagonalization of a2. x 2 Hermitian matrix. 420 Fictitious spin 1/2 associated with a two-level system. 424 : System of two spin 1/2 particles. 430 Spin 1/2 density matrix. .. 437 : Spin 1/2 particle in a static magnetic field and a rotating field: magnetic resonance . 4B : A simple model of the ammonia molecule. 455 : Coupling between a stable state and an unstable state. 470 Swi Exercises... ee 416 Chapter V_ The one-dimensional harmonic oscillator... . . . 481 A. Introduction... se 483 B. Eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian... 0... 0 tse 488 C. Eigenstates of the Hamiltonian. 496 D. Discussion... 0... 503 Complements of chapter V READER'S GUIDE, 2 ee 509 Ay: Some examples of harmonic oscillators... . . . sil By: Study of the stationary states in the (|x) } representation, Hermite polynomials... 2... 0 2 ee ee lee 529 Cy: Solving the eigenvalue equation of the harmonic oscillator by the polynomial method. 535 Dy: Study of the stationary states in the {| p) } representation... $42 Ey: The isotropic three-dimensional harmonic oscillator... . . . 347