QUANTUM MECHANICS

PROF. UNIV. DR. VIRGIL BARAN

ACADEMIC YEAR 2017-2018

 OUTLINE OF THE COURSE

A. THE PRINCIPLES OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

I. THE SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLE OF STATES

II. THE OBSERVABLES PRINCIPLES

III. THE MEASUREMENT POSTULATE OF QM

IV. THE FUNDAMENTAL COMMUTATION RELATIONS

V. THE TIME EVOLUTION IN QUANTUM MECHANICS

VI. THE SYMMETRIZATION POSTULATE FOR SYSTEM OF

IDENTICAL PARTICLES
 OUTLINE OF THE COURSE
B. APPLICATIONS
I. THE ONE-DIMENSIONAL MOTION IN QM
II. THE HARMONIC OSCILLATOR IN QM
III. ORBITAL AND GENERAL ANGULAR MOMENTUM
IV. SPIN ONE-HALF SYSTEMS
V. THE ROTATIONS IN QM
VI. THE DYNAMICS IN CENTRAL FIELD IN QM
VII. TIME-INDEPENDENT PERTURBATION THEORY
VIII. TIME-DEPENDENT PERTURBATION THEORY
IX. THE DYNAMICS OF A CHARGED PARTICLE IN
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD
X. SYSTEMS OF IDENTICAL PARTICLES IN QM
MINIMAL CRITERIA TO PASS PART I of THE EXAM
I. A SUBSET FROM THE SIMPLEST SUBJECTS, INCLUDING A VERY SIMPLE
PROBLEM

II. A PROBLEM SOLVED AT HOME AND FULLY EXPLAINED DURING THE EXAM
(try to understand, not to memorize)

III. TEN ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1.How is described a state in QM? Formulate the superposition principle. Examples

2.How are described the physical quantities in QM? What values may have
(assume) an observable in QM?
3. Explain the measurement postulate.
4. Provide the fundamental commutation relations; mention some consequences.
5. Explain the physical meaning of uncertainty relations.
6. Write the time-dependent Schrodinger equation and explain the physical
meaning of each element appearing in this relation.
7. Write the time-independent Schrodinger equation. Interpretation.
8. What are the possible values of the energy of a quantum harmonic oscillator?
9. Define the orbital angular momentum in QM and demonstrate the commutation
relations between its components.
10. What are the possible values the general angular momentum may have?
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. J.J. SAKURAI, MODERN QUANTUM MECHANICS

II. N. ZETTILI, QUANTUM MECHANICS CONCEPTS AND

APPLICATIONS

III. R. SANKAR, PRINCIPLES OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

IV. M. Le BELLAC, QUANTUM PHYSICS

V. C.J. ISHAM, LECTURES ON QUANTUM THEORY

VI. J. Von NEUMANN, MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS

OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

VII. P.A.M.DIRAC,THE PRINCIPLES OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

VIII. D. McIntyre , Quantum Mechanics (2012)

 Mathematical concepts to review

Algebra
• Hilbert space;
• Theory of operators (Hermitian);
• Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions (for Hermitian
operators).

Equations of Mathematical Physics

• Spherical function theory;
• Orthogonal polynomials;
• Existence and uniqueness theorems.
 A BRIEF HISTORY

1. THE ROOTS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

2. THE STAGES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF QM

3. THE PROVOCATIONS OF QUANTUM WORLD

4. THE ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR PHYSICS, THE PARTICLE PHYSICS,

THE CONDENSATE STATE PHYSICS AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF QM
RADIATIA CORPULUI NEGRU

PROBLEMA ABSORBTIEI RADIATIEI

PROBLEMA EMISIEI RADIATIEI SI STABILITATII

SISTEMELOR ATOMICE
 STAGE I OF QUANTUM MECHANICS
ABSORPTION OF RADIATION

1887 H.HERTZ and P. LENARD: The photoelectric effect

1905 A. EINSTEIN: The theory of photoelectric effect

1916 R.A. MILLIKAN: The precise determination of Plank constant

1923 H.A. COMPTON: Compton effect

BLACK-BODY RADIATION
O.LUMMER, W.WIEN: a way to measure quantitatively the 1895
intensity of radiation in a cavity

M.PLANCK: Black Body Radiation (14 DEC 1900) 1900

Bose paper, A. Einstein paper: Bose-Einstein distribution 1917
 STAGE I OF QUANTUM MECHANICS
STABILITY AND RADIATION EMISSION OF ATOMIC SYSTEMS

1885 J.J.BALMER: Balmer series

1913 N. BOHR: Atomic model

1914 THE FRANK-HERTZ EXPERIMENT

STAGE II OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

1923 Louis de BROGLIE: the possibility that

particles can have undulatory properties

W.E. ELSASSER: suggestion to test de

1925 Broglie wave theory by looking for interference
effects in the scattering of electrons from
crystals

C.J. DAVISSON, L.H. GERMER: confirmation

1927 of such interference effects
 STAGE III OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

MATRIX MECHANICS – W.Heisenberg,

1925 M.Born, P.Jordan
ELECTRON SPIN – G.E.Uhlenbeck, S.Goudsmit

WAVE MECHANICS – E.Schrodinger

1926 FERMI-DIRAC STATISTICS (fermions) –
E.Fermi, P.A.M.Dirac

1928 DIRAC EQUATION – P.A.M.Dirac

ANTIPARTICLES – Dirac holes theory (holes as
1931 positive charges) – P.A.M.Dirac

1932 POSITRON DISCOVERY– C.D.Anderson

SCHRODINGER HEISENBERG DIRAC

 c1 
( x, t )   
 c2 

 a11 a12 .... 

i   
 x  ..........
a21 a22 ....  Px
 ....... 
 WASSILY KANDINSKY

1900

The comet Kochel-Waterfall I

1911

Impression III Romantic

(Concert) landscape
 WASSILY KANDINSKY
Small worlds I,III
1922

Distinct connection
1925
EARLY FUNDAMENTAL EXPERIMENTS

PLANCK CONSTANT h
IN FRONT
THE PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT (1887,1902,1905)
THE FRANK-HERTZ EXPERIMENT (1914)
 THE COMPTON EFFECT (1922)

h
c  Compton wavelength of the electron
me c
ATOMIC SPECTROSCOPY

Hydrogen emission spectrum

J.J. Balmer 1885

 ELECTRON DIFFRACTION EXPERIMENTS (1927)

Davisson and Germer

Phys.Rev. (1927)

Davisson, C. J., "Are Electrons Waves?,"

Franklin Institute Journal 205, 597 (1928)
THE BLACK-BODY RADIATION 1895, 1900

du ( , T ) 8 2 1
 3 h h
d c
e kT
1
THE BLACK-BODY RADIATION

du ( , T ) 8 2 1
 3 h h
d c
e kT
1
COSMIC (FOSSIL) BLACK-BODY RADIATION
STERN - GERLACH EXPERIMENT (1922)
STERN - GERLACH EXPERIMENT: SCHEMATIC SET-UP
RECENT FUNDAMENTAL EXPERIMENTS

PLANCK CONSTANT h
IN FRONT
QUANTUM POINT CONTACTS (1988)

CONDUCTANCE QUANTIZATION
QUANTUM HALL EFFECT (1980,1992, 2000)
QUANTUM HALL EFFECT : THE DEVICE
QUARK-GLUON PLASMA (QGP) (2005)
QGP – A STRONGLY CORRELATED FLUID (2005)
QUANTUM GASES (BEC-1995)
QUANTUM GASES
 MAXWELL EQUATIONS

  Densitate volumica de sarcina electrica

  ( x, y, x, t )
GAUSS LAW div E 
0

 B
FARADAY INDUCTION
rot E  
t
LAW Densitatea de curent de sarcina
 
 j  j ( x, y, z, t )
ABSENTA SARCINILOR
MAGNETICE
div B  0  
I   j  n da
 
 1 E
S
dQ
j I

rot B   2
dt
AMPERE-MAXWELL
LAW
0c 2
c t
    
k e  E km  j  B
 CAMPUL ELECTROMAGNETIC CA SISTEM FIZIC

2 
 0 E 0c B
2 2
   
 (  )  j  E  div ( 0 c E  B)
2

t 2 2

Densitatea de curent
Densitatea de energie
de energie
2    
0 E 0c B
2 2
S  0c E  B
2
wem  
2 2
MAXWELL EQUATIONS PREDICTS THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

div E  0

 B Ecuatiile lui Maxwell in vid
rot E  
t

div B  0
 1 E
rot B  2
c t
   
 1 E t B 1  2 E (2')  1 2E   1  2 E
rotB   rot   rot rot E    grad divE   2 E  
c 2 t t c 2 t 2 c 2 t 2 c 2 t 2
 
 1  E 2  1  B 2
 E 2 2 0
2
 B 2 2 0
2

c t c t

Ecuatia undelor
 ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES PROPAGATION

  
n  E  cB
 CHARGE QUANTIZATION AND MAGNETIC MONOPOLES
(FASCINATION OF DIRAC FORMULA)
P.A.M. Dirac, Proc. Roy. Soc. A 133, 60 1931
Quantised Singularities in the Electromagnetic Field
P.A.M. Dirac
Received May 29, 1931

§ 1. Introduction
The steady progress of physics requires for its theoretical formulation a mathematics
that gets continually more advanced. This is only natural and to be expected. What,
however, was not expected by the scientific workers of the last century was the
particular form that the line of advancement of the mathematics would take, namely, it
was expected that the mathematics would get more and more complicated, but would
rest on a permanent basis of axioms and definitions, while actually the modem
physical developments have required a mathematics that continually shifts its
foundations and gets more abstract. Non-euclidean geometry and non-commutative
algebra, which were at one time considered to be purely fictions of the mind and
pastimes for logical thinkers, have now been found to be very necessary for the
description of general facts of the physical world. It seems likely that this process of
increasing abstraction will continue in the future and that advance in physics is to be
associated with a continual modification and generalization of the axioms at the base
of the mathematics rather than with a logical development of any one mathematical
scheme on a fixed foundation.
 CHARGE QUANTIZATION AND MAGNETIC
MONOPOLES
(FASCINATION OF DIRAC FORMULA)
P.A.M. Dirac, Proc. Roy. Soc. A 133, 60 1931 n
Quantised Singularities in the Electromagnetic Field eg  
P.A.M. Dirac 2
Received May 29, 1931

The steady progress of physics requires for its

theoretical formulation a mathematics that gets
continually more advanced. (…) It seems likely that this
process of increasing abstraction will continue in the
future and that advance in physics is to be associated
with a continual modification and generalisation of
the axioms at the base of the mathematics rather
than with a logical development of any one
mathematical scheme on a fixed foundation.
 CHARGE QUANTIZATION AND MAGNETIC MONOPOLES
(FASCINATION OF DIRAC FORMULA)
P.A.M. Dirac, Proc. Roy. Soc. A 133, 60 1931
Quantised Singularities in the Electromagnetic Field
P.A.M. Dirac
Received May 29, 1931

The object of the present paper is to put forward a new idea which is in many respects
comparable with this one about negative energies. It will be concerned essentially, not
with electrons and protons, but with the reason for the existence of a smallest electric
charge. This smallest charge is known to exist experimentally and to have the value e
given approximately by
hc
2
 137
e
The theory of this paper, while it looks at first as though it will give a theoretical value
for e, is found when worked out to give a connection between the smallest electric
charge and the smallest magnetic pole. It shows, in fact, a symmetry between
electricity and magnetism quite foreign to current views. It does not, however, force a
complete symmetry.
CHARGE QUANTIZATION AND MAGNETIC MONOPOLES
(FASCINATION OF DIRAC FORMULA)

1
qg  n
2

Electric charge Magnetic charge Planck constant

B. THE PROVOCATIONS OF QM – THE PUZZLING
“REALITY” SUGGESTED BY QM