Quantum mechanics – a modern development

Ballentine L.

Although there are many textbooks that deal with the formal apparatus of quantum mechanics (QM) and its application to standard problems, none take into account the developments in the foundations of the subject which have taken place in the last few decades. There are specialized treatises on various aspects of the foundations of QM, but none that integrate those topics with the standard material. This book aims to remove that unfortunate dichotomy, which has divorced the practical aspects of the subject from the interpretation and broader implications of the theory. The book is intended primarily as a graduate level textbook, but it will also be of interest to physicists and philosophers who study the foundations of QM. Parts of it could be used by senior undergraduates too.

---

Table of contents :
Contents……Page 6
Introduction – The Phenomena of Quantum Mechanics……Page 16
1. Mathematical Prerequisites……Page 22
2. The Formulation of Quantum Mechanics……Page 57
3. Kinematics & Dynamics……Page 78
4. Coordinate Representation & Applications……Page 112
5. Momentum Representation & Applications……Page 141
6. The Harmonic Oscillator……Page 166
7. Angular Momentum……Page 175
8. State Preperation & Determination……Page 221
9. Measurement and the Interpretation of States……Page 245
10. Formation of Bound States……Page 273
11. Charged Particle in a Magnetic Field……Page 322
12. Time-Dependent Phenomena……Page 347
13. Discrete Symmetries……Page 385
14. The Classical Limit……Page 403
15. Quantum Mechanics in Phase Space……Page 421
16. Scattering……Page 436
17. Identical Particles……Page 485
18. Many-Fermion Systems……Page 508
19. Quantum Mechanics of the Electromagnetic Field……Page 541
20. Bell’s Theorem & its Consequences……Page 598
Appendix (A) – Schur’s Lemma……Page 628
Appendix (B) – Irreducibility of Q and P……Page 630
Appendix (C) – Proof of Wick’s Theorem……Page 631
Appendix (D) – Solutions to Selected Problems……Page 633