Physics 130a, Quantum Mechanics 2008

Professor: Ken Intriligator
5551 Mayer Hall
keni@ucsd.edu
Office Hours: Tues. 2-3pm
 
TA: Matt Sudano
Office: MH4525
msudano@physics.ucsd.edu
Office Hours: Weds 2:30 -3:30(and also 3-5pm Thursdays in tutoring center, MH2106)  

Text: I chose Principles of Quantum Mechanics (2nd edition) by R. Shankar as the official text. The lectures will follow my own notes, available below. I have requested that the books by Shankar, Gasiorwicz, Griffiths, and volume 3 of the Feynman Lectures be placed on reserves at S&E Library. The topics covered in 130a will roughly come from the first 13 chapters of Shankar, but we'll skip some chapters (e.g. chapters 8 and 10) and pieces of chapters.

Course Times: Lecture: TTh 11:00-12:20, WLH 2111. Discussion: M 6:00-6:50, PETER 103,

Homework: Around 7 problem sets, with about a week to do each. Due in class, at 11:00am (or dropped off earlier). Late HW sets will not be accepted.

Midterm: Will be May 8, during the lecture time. Bring bluebooks.

Final: Tues June 10, 11:30-2:30. No late or early finals, check your schedule now!

Grading: Discretionary = 5%, Homework=20%, Midterm=25%, Final=50%.

Advice: How to do well in this class.      Physics 130a last year

                                                       

Fun QM links: Many worlds       Bell's theorem        Schrodinger's cat      EPR Paradox


date Topics (and link to lecture notes) Homework
4/1 Particles vs waves, classically (ch. 3)            
4/3 Idea and history of QM  HW 1 (due 4/10)           solutions
4/8 continue history of QM            
4/10 finish history; probability interpretation of QM  HW 2(due 4/17)           solutions
4/15 free particle wavefunction, Fourier transforms.            
4/17 more on Fourier transforms; vector spaces etc.   HW3 (due 4/24)           solutions
4/22 math, bra-ket notation, and postulates of QM             
4/24 more on bra-ket notation   HW 4 (Due May 1)           solutions
4/29 Postulates of QM             
5/1 Picking a basis. Time evolution.   HW 5 (not due)           solutions
5/6 More on Schrodinger equation. Particle in a box             
5/8 midterm, with solutions            
5/13 Parity and more potential examples             
5/15 More step potentials, and fluxes   HW 6 (Due May 22)           solutions
5/20 Flux examples and tunneling.             
5/22 Harmonic oscillator. Creation and annihilation operators. Phonons  HW 7 (Due 5/29)           solutions
5/27 More on creation and annihilation operators. Symmetries. Angular momentum            
5/29 Angular momentum, spherical harmonics  HW 8 (not due)           don't peek!
6/3 more spherical harmonics, separation of variables, spherical problems.             
6/5 Solving the S.E. for spherical potentials. Hydrogen atom, spherical well.