Synopsis
Here is a readable and intuitive quantum mechanics text that covers scattering theory, relativistic quantum mechanics, and field theory. This expanded and updated Second Edition—with five new chapters—emphasizes the concrete and calculable over the abstract and pure, and helps turn students into researchers without diminishing their sense of wonder at physics and nature.
As a one-year graduate-level course, Quantum Mechanics II: A Second Course in Quantum Theory leads from quantum basics to basic field theory, and lays the foundation for research-oriented specialty courses. Used selectively, the material can be tailored to create a one-semester course in advanced topics. In either case, it addresses a broad audience of students in the physical sciences, as well as independent readers—whether advanced undergraduates or practicing scientists.
Acknowledging the challenges encountered by most students with this material, the author:
* Applies the material with over 200 exercises and 100 illustrations
* Concludes all chapters with multipart problems that include additional examples beyond the scope of the main text
* Incorporates a number of tutorials into the text for systematic learning of special topics
* Provides accessible coverage of the difficult area of quantum fields by emphasizing the physics involved and drawing connections with quantum mechanics
* Covers material not usually found in textbooks such as the use of the Dirac equation and computers in modern physics
* Provides appendixes on momentum states, representations, special relativity, and the Dirac equation
Written with fluidity and a passion for the natural world, this stimulating book will help students develop the necessary research tools, understand the complexities of the subject, and gain new insights into and appreciation of experimental physics.
Booknews
A text for a one-year graduate course for students who are familiar with quantum mechanics up to (but not including) scattering, special relativity, and classical electromagnetism at the level of Jackson. However, appendices covering momentum states, representations, special relativity, and the Dirac equation should make it accessible for advanced undergraduates and for practicing scientists who are brushing up on their own. The second edition cleans up the language in accordance with feedback over the seven years since the first, and adds or expands several topics. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)