* An applied focus for electrical engineers and materials scientists. * Theoretical results supported with real-world systems and applications. * Includes worked examples and self-study questions. * Solutions manual available.
Quantum mechanics is widely recognized as the basic law which governs all of nature, including all materials and devices. It has always been essential to the understanding of material properties, and as devices become smaller it is also essential for studying their behavior. Nevertheless, only a small fraction of graduate engineers and materials scientists take a course giving a systematic presentation of the subject. The courses for physics students tend to focus on the fundamentals and formal background, rather than on application, and do not fill the need. This invaluable text has been designed to fill the very apparent gap.The book covers those parts of quantum theory which may be necessary for a modern engineer. It focuses on the approximations and concepts which allow estimates of the entire range of properties of nuclei, atoms, molecules, and solids, as well as the behavior of lasers and other quantum-optic devices. It may well prove useful also to graduate students in physics, whose courses on quantum theory tend not to include any of these applications. The material has been the basis of a course taught to graduate engineering students for the past four years at Stanford University.Topics Discussed: Foundations; Simple Systems; Hamiltonian Mechanics; Atoms and Nuclei; Molecules; Crystals; Transitions; Tunneling; Transition Rates; Statistical Mechanics; Transport; Noise; Energy Bands; Electron Dynamics in Solids; Vibrations in Solids; Creation and Annihilation Operators; Phonons; Photons and Lasers; Coherent States; Coulomb Effects; Cooperative Phenomena; Magnetism; Shake-off Excitations; Exercise Problems.
This book provides a rapid overview of the basic methods and concepts in mechanics for beginning Ph.D. students and advanced undergraduates in applied mathematics or related fields. It is based on a graduate course given in 2006-07 at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Among other topics, the book introduces Newton's law, action principles, Hamilton-Jacobi theory, geometric wave theory, analytical and numerical statistical mechanics, discrete and continuous quantum mechanics, and quantum path-integral methods. The focus is on fundamental mathematical methods that provide connections between seemingly unrelated subjects. An example is Hamilton-Jacobi theory, which appears in the calculus of variations, in Fermat's principle of classical mechanics, and in the geometric theory of dispersive wavetrains. The material is developed in a sequence of simple examples and the book can be used in a one-semester class on classical, statistical, and quantum mechanics. Some familiarity with differential equations is required but otherwise the book is self-contained. In particular, no previous knowledge of physics is assumed. Titles in this series are co-published with the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.
This concise introduction to the key concepts and tools of modern statistical mechanics is self-contained. Combining analytical and numerical techniques, it also covers advanced topics such as non-relativistic quantum field theory. After introducing classical analytical techniques, the authors present important numerical methods and a diverse range of applications. Quantum statistical mechanics is then analyzed and applied to topics in astrophysics and cosmology. Combining the authors' many years' experience of teaching courses in this area, this textbook is ideal for advanced students in physics, chemistry and mathematics.
Based on a Cal Tech course, this is an outstanding introduction to formal quantum mechanics for advanced undergraduates in applied physics. The treatment's exploration of a wide range of topics culminates in two eminently practical subjects, the semiconductor transistor and the laser. Each chapter concludes with a set of problems. 1982 edition.
Introduction to Quantum Statistical Mechanics (2nd Edition) may be used as an advanced textbook by graduate students, even ambitious undergraduates in physics. It is also suitable for non experts in physics who wish to have an overview of some of the classic and fundamental quantum models in the subject. The explanation in the book is detailed enough to capture the interest of the reader, and complete enough to provide the necessary background material needed to dwell further into the subject and explore the research literature.
This systematic algebraic approach offers a careful formulation of the problems' physical motivations as well as self-contained descriptions of the mathematical methods for arriving at solutions. 1972 edition.
Discusses the basic law of statistical physics and their applications to a range of interesting problems. In this title, the basic principles of equilibrium statistical mechanics are clearly formulated and applied to specific examples of ideal gases and interacting systems to bring out their strength and scope.
This book is a rewritten and annotated version of Leo P. Kadanoff and Gordon Baym’s lectures that were presented in the book Quantum Statistical Mechanics: Green’s Function Methods in Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Problems. The lectures were devoted to a discussion on the use of thermodynamic Green’s functions in describing the properties of many-particle systems. The functions provided a method for discussing finite-temperature problems with no more conceptual difficulty than ground-state problems, and the method was equally applicable to boson and fermion systems and equilibrium and nonequilibrium problems. The lectures also explained nonequilibrium statistical physics in a systematic way and contained essential concepts on statistical physics in terms of Green’s functions with sufficient and rigorous details. In-Gee Kim thoroughly studied the lectures during one of his research projects but found that the unspecialized method used to present them in the form of a book reduced their readability. He started the tedious work of rewriting and annotating them to fully understand the formalism of nonequilibrium quantum statistical mechanics. While doing so, he realized they can be a useful resource for students of modern physics but will have to be upgraded to match pace with the evolved curricula. Being aware that besides completing the course work and passing the relevant examinations, it is necessary for graduate students of modern physics to make the knowledge of a topic concrete in their minds. This book is a systematically prepared summary of those lectures and will be extremely useful for graduate students as well as senior researchers to settle down the key knowledge of the subject.
Classic undergraduate text explores wave functions for the hydrogen atom, perturbation theory, the Pauli exclusion principle, and the structure of simple and complex molecules. Numerous tables and figures.