PHYSICS 5645 - Quantum Mechanics A
Introduction and Syllabus - FALL 1998
Text: Modern Quantum Mechanics by J. J. Sakurai, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Revised Edition.

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Professor.................Office...................Phone.......................e-mail..........................Office hours

Dan Kimel............... 608 Keen.............644-3437...................Kimel@hep.fsu.edu......Mon.: 3:30-4:30

.............................................................................................................................. Wed.:3:30-4:30

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This is the first semester of a two-semester course on modern quantum mechanics at the graduate level, covering fundamentals of quantum mechanics, quantum dynamics, angular momentum, symmetries, approximations, identical particles, and scattering theory. The specific content of the course will mainly be drawn from the text, but with applications and examples also taken from Quantum Mechanics, Third Edition, by Eugen Merzbacher. The lectures are on Tuesday and Thursday, from 11:00 until 12:15 in 110 UPL. Homework solutions will be posted on the course web site and placed in a notebook at the Dirac Library Reference Desk.

Student grades are based on weekly graded homework and class participation (25%), a midterm exam (25%), and a final exam (50%).

The goal of the course is to present a first-year graduate level account of modern quantum mechanics, beginning with an immediate introduction to the quantum formalism in terms of bras and kets. The course is designed for students who have already studied quantum mechanics at the junior or senior level. Problem solving is stressed as a means of imparting a physical understanding of and intuition for quantum mechanics. A secondary goal of the course is to develop selected topics in mathematical physics which are fundamental to exploring quantum mechanics and quantum field theory.
 


Schedule

.....Date ...................................Assignment ......Date .......................................Assignment
August

25 Sec. 1.1 

27 Sec. 1.2 

September

1 Sec. 1.3 ................................Turn in HW 1 

3 Sec. 1.4 

8 Sec. 1.4 ................................Turn in HW 2 

10 Sec. 1.5 

15 Sec. 1.6 ..............................Turn in HW 3 

17 Sec. 1.7 

22 Sec. 2.1 ..............................Turn in HW 4 

23 Sec. 2.2 

29 Sec. 2.3 ..............................Turn in HW 5 

October 

1 Sec. 2.4 

6 Sec. 2.5 ................................Turn in HW 6 

8 Sec. 2.6 

13 Sec. 3.1 ...............................Turn in HW 7 

15 Sec. 3.2
 

20 Sec. 3.3                                  Turn in HW 8 

22 ..............................................

27 Sec. 3.4 .................................Turn in HW 9

29 Sec. 3.5 

November

3 Sec. 3.6 ...................................

5 Sec. 3.7                                    Midterm Exam

10 Sec. 3.7                                  Turn in HW 10 

12 Sec. 3.8 

17 Sec. 3.8 ................................Turn in HW 11 

19 Sec. 3.9 

24 Sec. 3.10...............................Turn in HW 12 

26 ..................... Thanksgiving--no class

December

1 Sec. 4.1  ............................... .Turn in HW 13 

3 Sec. 4.2 
 

Final Exam: Fri., Dec. 11, 3:00 - 5:00 PM
 

Outline of the Content of PHY 5645


 


Fundamental Concepts
 

Quantum Dynamics Theory of Angular Momentum Applications to Bound State Problems Symmetry in Quantum Mechanics
PHY 5645 Course Grade Dividing Lines

Your final grade will be determined on the basis of your graded homework and class performance (25%), your midterm exam score (25%) and final exam score (50%). The following gives the course grade dividing lines on the basis of the weighted total score in percent.
 
 
A/A- 80% B+/B 70% B-/C+ 55%
A-/B+ 75% B/B- 60% C+/C 50%