PHY 6645 QUANTUM MECHANICS I - Fall 2020
INSTRUCTOR
Pierre SikivieOffice: NPB 2063
email: sikivie@phys.ufl.edu
tel: 352.392.1923
CLASS TIMES
TR, 8:30-9:15am and 9:25-9:55am, on-line (a zoom link will be provided)OFFICE HOURS
TR, 9:55 - 11:10am, on-lineGRADER
Kazi AlamOffice: NPB 2157
email: kazi.a.alam@ufl.edu
Office hours: Thursdays, 4:05 - 4:55pm
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
"Principles of Quantum Mechanics" by Ramamurti Shankar, 2d edition, Springer 1994. We will cover chapters 3 - 13.There are many other useful textbooks on quantum mechanics. You are encouraged to explore alternatives. Here are four that are commonly used in graduate level courses:
- L. Landau and E. Lifchitz, `Quantum Mechanics', Pergamon Press.
- L.I. Schiff, `Quantum Mechanics', 3d Edition, McGraw-Hill 1968.
- E. Merzbacher, `Quantum Mechanics', 2d Edition, Wiley 1970.
- J.J. Sakurai and J. Napolitano, `Modern Quantum Mechanics', 2d Edition, Cambridge University Press 2017.
COURSE OUTLINE
- Experimental foundations
- Postulates
- The Schr\"odinger equation
- The classical limit
- The harmonic oscillator
- The path integral formulation
- Uncertainty relations
- Identical particles
- Symmetries and conservation laws
- The rotation group and angular momentum
- The hydrogen atom
A course schedule can be found here.
HOMEWORK
There will be one problem set per week, due on Fridays at noon. Please submit a legible pdf copy of your homework through the UF Canvas website. As much as possible, do the homework by yourself. You will learn to the extent that you struggle with the problems on your own.- due September 4: homework #1
- due September 11: homework #2
- due September 18: homework #3
- due September 25: 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 5.2.4
- due October 2: homework #5
- due October 9: homework #6
- due October 23: homework #7
- due October 23: 7.3.2, 7.3.4, 7.3.6, 7.4.2, 7.4.3, 7.4.4, 7.4.5, 7.4.6
- due October 30: homework #9
- due November 6: 7.5.4, 8.6.1, 8.6.2, 8.6.3, 10.1.2, 10.2.3
- due November 13: homework #11
- due November 20: 12.3.6, 12.3.7, 12.4.4, 12.5.1
- due December 4: homework #13
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The final exam will be a take-at-home test on Wednesday December 16 from 8:00am to 11:00am Florida time. A zoom session, which you must participate in, will be in effect during that time. You must be visible through the zoom video system throughout the exam. You may not speak or communicate with anyone, nor obtain any information online. You may use Shankar's textbook and your notes. The questions will be visible to you through the zoom "share screen" option. You send in your scanned answers as a pdf document when you are finished.
GRADING
Your final grade will be based on:the homework | 25% |
a mid-term test (Oct. 15) | 25% |
the final exam (Dec. 16) | 50% |
The current UF policies for assigning grade points may be found at https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx.