PHY 6645 QUANTUM MECHANICS I - Fall 2020

INSTRUCTOR

Pierre Sikivie
Office: 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-line

GRADER

Kazi Alam
Office: 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.

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.

OUR ON-LINE CLASSES ARE RECORDED

Our class sessions will be audio-visually recorded. Students who participate with their camera engaged or utilize a profile image are agreeing to have their video or image recorded. If you are unwilling to consent to have your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a profile image. Likewise, students who un-mute during class and participate verbally are agreeing to have their voices recorded.

CLASS ATTENDANCE

Requirements for class attendance, make-up exams, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found at https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx.

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565, https://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc) by providing appropriate documentation. Once registered, students will receive an accommodations letter which must be presented to the instructor when requesting accommodation. Students with disabilities should follow this procedure as early as possible in the semester.

COURSE EVALUATIONS

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/