Preface |
Introduction: Three Worlds / 1: |
Worlds 1 and 2 / 1.1: |
World 3 / 1.2: |
Problems / 1.3: |
The Quantum Postulates / 2: |
Postulate 1: The Quantum State / 2.1: |
Postulate 2: Observables, Operators, and Eigenstates / 2.2: |
Postulate 3: Quantum Superpositions / 2.3: |
Discrete Eigenvalues / 2.3.1: |
Continuous Eigenvalues / 2.3.2: |
Closing Comments / 2.4: |
What Is a Quantum State? / 2.5: |
Probabilities, Averages, and Uncertainties / 3.1: |
Probabilities / 3.1.1: |
Averages / 3.1.2: |
Uncertainties / 3.1.3: |
The Statistical Interpretation / 3.2: |
Bohr, Einstein, and Hidden Variables / 3.3: |
Background / 3.3.1: |
Fundamental Issues / 3.3.2: |
Einstein Revisited / 3.3.3: |
The Structure of Quantum States / 3.4: |
Mathematical Preliminaries / 4.1: |
Vector Spaces / 4.1.1: |
Function Spaces / 4.1.2: |
Dirac's Bra-ket Notation / 4.2: |
Bras and Kets / 4.2.1: |
Labeling States / 4.2.2: |
The Scalar Product / 4.3: |
Quantum Scalar Products / 4.3.1: |
Discussion / 4.3.2: |
Representations / 4.4: |
Basics / 4.4.1: |
Superpositions and Representations / 4.4.2: |
Representational Freedom / 4.4.3: |
Operators / 4.5: |
Introductory Comments / 5.1: |
Hermitian Operators / 5.2: |
Adjoint Operators / 5.2.1: |
Hermitian Operators: Definition and Properties / 5.2.2: |
Wavefunctions and Hermitian Operators / 5.2.3: |
Projection and Identity Operators / 5.3: |
Projection Operators / 5.3.1: |
The Identity Operator / 5.3.2: |
Unitary Operators / 5.4: |
Matrix Mechanics / 5.5: |
Elementary Matrix Operations / 6.1: |
Vectors and Scalar Products / 6.1.1: |
Matrices and Matrix Multiplication / 6.1.2: |
Vector Transformations / 6.1.3: |
States as Vectors / 6.2: |
Operators as Matrices / 6.3: |
An Operator in Its Eigenbasis / 6.3.1: |
Matrix Elements and Alternative Bases / 6.3.2: |
Change of Basis / 6.3.3: |
Adjoint, Hermitian, and Unitary Operators / 6.3.4: |
Eigenvalue Equations / 6.4: |
Commutators and Uncertainty Relations / 6.5: |
The Commutator / 7.1: |
Definition and Characteristics / 7.1.1: |
Commutators in Matrix Mechanics / 7.1.2: |
The Uncertainty Relations / 7.2: |
Uncertainty Products / 7.2.1: |
General Form of the Uncertainty Relations / 7.2.2: |
Interpretations / 7.2.3: |
Reflections / 7.2.4: |
Angular Momentum / 7.3: |
Angular Momentum in Classical Mechanics / 8.1: |
Basics of Quantum Angular Momentum / 8.2: |
Operators and Commutation Relations / 8.2.1: |
Eigenstates and Eigenvalues / 8.2.2: |
Raising and Lowering Operators / 8.2.3: |
Physical Interpretation / 8.3: |
Measurements / 8.3.1: |
Relating L[superscript 2] and L[subscript z] / 8.3.2: |
Orbital and Spin Angular Momentum / 8.4: |
Orbital Angular Momentum / 8.4.1: |
Spin Angular Momentum / 8.4.2: |
Review / 8.5: |
The Time-Independent Schrodinger Equation / 8.6: |
An Eigenvalue Equation for Energy / 9.1: |
Using the Schrodinger Equation / 9.2: |
Conditions on Wavefunctions / 9.2.1: |
An Example: the Infinite Potential Well / 9.2.2: |
Interpretation / 9.3: |
Energy Eigenstates in Position Space / 9.3.1: |
Overall and Relative Phases / 9.3.2: |
Potential Barriers and Tunneling / 9.4: |
The Step Potential / 9.4.1: |
The Step Potential and Scattering / 9.4.2: |
Tunneling / 9.4.3: |
What's Wrong with This Picture? / 9.5: |
Why Is the State Complex? / 9.6: |
Complex Numbers / 10.1: |
Polar Form / 10.1.1: |
Argand Diagrams and the Role of the Phase / 10.1.3: |
The Phase in Quantum Mechanics / 10.2: |
Phases and the Description of States / 10.2.1: |
Phase Changes and Probabilities / 10.2.2: |
Unitary Operators Revisited / 10.2.3: |
Unitary Operators, Phases, and Probabilities / 10.2.4: |
Example: A Spin 1/2 System / 10.2.5: |
Wavefunctions / 10.3: |
Time Evolution / 10.4: |
The Time-Dependent Schrodinger Equation / 11.1: |
How Time Evolution Works / 11.2: |
Time Evolving a Quantum State / 11.2.1: |
Unitarity and Phases Revisited / 11.2.2: |
Expectation Values / 11.3: |
Time Derivatives / 11.3.1: |
Constants of the Motion / 11.3.2: |
Energy-Time Uncertainty Relations / 11.4: |
Conceptual Basis / 11.4.1: |
Spin 1/2: An Example / 11.4.2: |
What is a Wavefunction? / 11.5: |
Eigenstates and Coefficients / 12.1.1: |
Representations and Operators / 12.1.2: |
Changing Representations / 12.2: |
Change of Basis Revisited / 12.2.1: |
From x to p and Back Again / 12.2.2: |
Gaussians and Beyond / 12.2.3: |
Phases and Time Evolution / 12.3: |
Free Particle Evolution / 12.3.1: |
Wavepackets / 12.3.2: |
Bra-ket Notation / 12.4: |
Quantum States / 12.4.1: |
Eigenstates and Transformations / 12.4.2: |
Epilogue / 12.5: |
Mathematical Concepts / 12.6: |
Complex Numbers and Functions / A.1: |
Differentiation / A.2: |
Integration / A.3: |
Differential Equations / A.4: |
Quantum Measurement / B: |
The Harmonic Oscillator / C: |
Energy Eigenstates and Eigenvalues / C.1: |
The Number Operator and its Cousins / C.2: |
Photons as Oscillators / C.3: |
Unitary Transformations / D: |
Finite Transformations and Generators / D.1: |
Continuous Symmetries / D.3: |
Symmetry Transformations / D.3.1: |
Symmetries of Physical Law / D.3.2: |
System Symmetries / D.3.3: |
Bibliography |
Index |
Preface |
Introduction: Three Worlds / 1: |
Worlds 1 and 2 / 1.1: |
World 3 / 1.2: |
Problems / 1.3: |
The Quantum Postulates / 2: |