An up-to-date account of this cutting-edge research in a consistent and understandable framework, of special interest to experts in other areas of electronic structure and/or quantum many-body theory. It will serve equally well as a self-contained guide to learning about reduced density matrices either through self-study or in a classroom as well as an invaluable resource for understanding the critical advancements in the field.
Quantum mechanics has been mostly concerned with those states of systems that are represented by state vectors. In many cases, however, the system of interest is incompletely determined; for example, it may have no more than a certain probability of being in the precisely defined dynamical state characterized by a state vector. Because of this incomplete knowledge, a need for statistical averaging arises in the same sense as in classical physics. The density matrix was introduced by J. von Neumann in 1927 to describe statistical concepts in quantum mechanics. The main virtue of the density matrix is its analytical power in the construction of general formulas and in the proof of general theorems. The evaluation of averages and probabilities of the physical quantities characterizing a given system is extremely cumbersome without the use of density matrix techniques. The representation of quantum mechanical states by density matrices enables the maximum information available on the system to be expressed in a compact manner and hence avoids the introduction of unnecessary vari ables. The use of density matrix methods also has the advantage of providing a uniform treatment of all quantum mechanical states, whether they are completely or incom~'\etely known. Until recently the use of the density matrix method has been mainly restricted to statistical physics. In recent years, however, the application of the density matrix has been gaining more and more importance in many other fields of physics.
The authors demonstrate that the essential information about order in, and energy levels of physical systems is encapsulated in the second order reduced density matrix. They have discovered an algorithm to obtain a reasonable accurate expression for the 2-matrix of an N-particle state to make nearly all properties of matter which are of interest to chemists and physicists accessible.
Reduced Density Matrices in Quantum Chemistry is from a special topics course of the author to graduate students at the Ohio State University. The focus of the book is on the structure of the density matrix as reference to the electronic structure of atoms and molecules. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss and differentiate in detail the ensemble density matrix and reduced density matrices. Ensemble density matrix is discussed in the context of different states, while the energy expressions of reduced density matrices are highlighted together with some examples. Chapter 3 accordingly follows through with a description of the properties of reduced density matrices. The succeeding chapters focus on the first-order and second-order reduced density matrices in terms of their analytic and physical properties. The final chapter discusses and interprets the two-body density matrix. The book is intended for graduate students and researchers in the study of quantum chemistry.
Quantum mechanics is one of the most fundamental yet difficult subjects in physics. Nonrelativistic quantum theory is presented here in a clear and systematic fashion, integrating Born's probabilistic interpretation with Schrödinger dynamics. Basic quantum principles are illustrated with simple examples requiring no mathematics beyond linear algebra and elementary probability theory. The quantum measurement process is consistently analyzed using fundamental quantum principles without referring to measurement. These same principles are used to resolve several of the paradoxes that have long perplexed physicists, including the double slit and Schrödinger's cat. The consistent histories formalism used here was first introduced by the author, and extended by M. Gell-Mann, J. Hartle and R. Omnès. Essential for researchers yet accessible to advanced undergraduate students in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science, this book is supplementary to standard textbooks. It will also be of interest to physicists and philosophers working on the foundations of quantum mechanics.
THE COLEMAN SYMPOSIUM This collection of papers is dedicated to Albert John Coleman for his enthusiastic devotion to teaching and research and his many scientific accomplishments. John was born in Toronto on May 20, 1918 and 21 years later graduated from the University of Toronto in mathematics. Along the way he teamed up with Irving Kaplansky and Nathan Mendelson to win the first William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition in 1938. He earned his M.A. at Princeton in 1942 and then his Ph.D. at Toronto in 1943 in relativistic quantum mechanics under the direction of Leopold Infeld. During this period he was secretary of the Student Christian Movement in Toronto. Later, in 1945, he became traveling secretary of the World's Student Christian Federation in Geneva and in this capacity visited some 100 universities in 20 countries in the next four years. He spent the 50's as a member of the faculty at the University of Toronto and for 20 years, starting in 1960, he served as Dupuis Professor of Mathematics and Head of the Department at Queen's University. Since 1983 he has been Professor Emeritus at Queen's.
One of the most cited books in physics of all time, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information remains the best textbook in this exciting field of science. This 10th anniversary edition includes an introduction from the authors setting the work in context. This comprehensive textbook describes such remarkable effects as fast quantum algorithms, quantum teleportation, quantum cryptography and quantum error-correction. Quantum mechanics and computer science are introduced before moving on to describe what a quantum computer is, how it can be used to solve problems faster than 'classical' computers and its real-world implementation. It concludes with an in-depth treatment of quantum information. Containing a wealth of figures and exercises, this well-known textbook is ideal for courses on the subject, and will interest beginning graduate students and researchers in physics, computer science, mathematics, and electrical engineering.
An introduction to the rapidly evolving methodology of electronic excited states For academic researchers, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, Quantum Chemistry and Dynamics of Excited States: Methods and Applications reports the most updated and accurate theoretical techniques to treat electronic excited states. From methods to deal with stationary calculations through time-dependent simulations of molecular systems, this book serves as a guide for beginners in the field and knowledge seekers alike. Taking into account the most recent theory developments and representative applications, it also covers the often-overlooked gap between theoretical and computational chemistry. An excellent reference for both researchers and students, Excited States provides essential knowledge on quantum chemistry, an in-depth overview of the latest developments, and theoretical techniques around the properties and nonadiabatic dynamics of chemical systems. Readers will learn: ● Essential theoretical techniques to describe the properties and dynamics of chemical systems ● Electronic Structure methods for stationary calculations ● Methods for electronic excited states from both a quantum chemical and time-dependent point of view ● A breakdown of the most recent developments in the past 30 years For those searching for a better understanding of excited states as they relate to chemistry, biochemistry, industrial chemistry, and beyond, Quantum Chemistry and Dynamics of Excited States provides a solid education in the necessary foundations and important theories of excited states in photochemistry and ultrafast phenomena.
This title gives students a good understanding of how quantum mechanics describes the material world. The text stresses the continuity between the quantum world and the classical world, which is merely an approximation to the quantum world.
The Theoretical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics addresses fundamental issues that are not discussed in most books on quantum mechanics. This book focuses on analyzing the underlying principles of quantum mechanics and explaining the conceptual and theoretical underpinning of quantum mechanics. In particular, the concepts of quantum indeterminacy, quantum measurement and quantum superposition are analyzed to clarify the concepts that are implicit in the formulation of quantum mechanics. The Schrodinger equation is never solved in the book. Rather, the discussion on the fundamentals of quantum mechanics is treated in a rigorous manner based on the mathematics of quantum mechanics. The new concept of the interplay of empirical and trans-empirical constructs in quantum mechanics is introduced to clarify the foundations of quantum mechanics and to explain the counter-intuitive construction of nature in quantum mechanics. The Theoretical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics is aimed at the advanced undergraduate and assumes introductory knowledge of quantum mechanics. Its objective is to provide a solid foundation for the reader to reach a deeper understanding of the principles of quantum mechanics.
