Quantum Theory

Phys 351, Fall 2021

Course Web Page

Brooks Thomas

Hugel 020
Physics Department
Lafayette College
730 High St.
Easton, PA 18042

Phone: (610) 330-5207
Email: thomasbd@lafayette.edu

Contact Info

Physics at Lafayette

Other Resources

• My Personal Home Page
• Lafayette Physics Department
• Physics Courses

• List of NSF REU Sites
• APS Resources for Students
• Society of Physics Students (SPS)
• CUWiP
• SACNAS National Conference

Course Materials and Other Useful Links

• Syllabus
• Resources and Demos Page
• Course Moodle

Textbook

• David J. Griffiths and Daniel F. Schroeter, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2018).

Office hours

During the times designated as my office hours below, you have the option of meeting with me either in person or virtually. In-person office-hours meetings will be held not in my office, but rather in Hugel 042, which is a larger, better ventilated room equipped with a HEPA filter. Virtual meetings will take place over the office-hours Zoom link posted on the course Moodle. If I am meeting with another student at the time you join the Zoom meeting, I may ask you to wait in the waiting room for a bit. However, if you and other students in the course have the same question, you can certainly meet with me as a group.


• Tues., 11:00 AM - 12:00 noon Eastern
• Thurs., 11:00 AM - 12:00 noon Eastern
• Fri., 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern
• Fri., 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Eastern

Since working through problems together at a blackboard is an integral part of most office-hours conversations in a course like this (no pun intended), there is often a compelling reason why it is preferable for us to meet in person rather than virtually during office hours. Thus, you shouldn't be hesitant about attending office hours in person. However, in order to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission, I ask that you attend office hours virtually if the purpose of your visit is something that we can handle equally well over Zoom. If you cannot make it during my formal office hours, please email me in order to schedule an appointment.

Course Schedule

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Date	Topic	Reading	Homework
Week 1
8/30	Introduction	1.1-1.2
9/1	Probability and the Wavefunction	1.3-1.4
9/3	Quantum Uncertainty and the de Broglie Relation	1.5-1.6	HW 0 Due
Week 2
9/6	The Infinite Square Well	2.1-2.2
9/8	The Free Particle	2.4
9/10	Boundary Conditions and the Finite Square Well	2.6	HW 1 Due
Week 3
9/13	Potential Barriers	2.5
9/15	Quantum Harmonic Oscillator, Part I	2.3.1
9/17	Quantum Harmonic Oscillator, Part II	2.3.2	HW 2 Due
Week 4
9/20	Linear Algebra Review	Appendix A
9/22	Hilbert Space	3.1
9/24	Observables and Eigenvalues	3.2-3.3	HW 3 Due
Week 5
9/27	The Generalized Statistical Interpretation	3.4
9/29	Deriving the Uncertainty Principle	3.5
10/1	Dirac Notation	3.6	HW 4 Due
Week 6
10/4	Particle in a Box	4.1 (Intro)
10/6	The Schrödinger Equation in Spherical Coordinates	4.1.1	Mid-Term Exam I Distributed
10/8	Wavefunctions in Spherical Coordinates	4.1.2	Mid-Term Exam I Due
Week 7
10/11	Fall Break (No Class Meeting)
10/13	The Radial Equation	4.1.3
10/15	The Hydrogen Atom, Part I	4.2.1
Week 8
10/18	The Hydrogen Atom, Part II	4.2.2
10/20	Angular Momentum, Part I	4.3.1
10/22	Angular Momentum, Part II	4.3.2	HW 5 Due
Week 9
10/25	Spin	4.4.1
10/27	Spin and Magnetic Fields	4.4.2
10/29	Addition of Angular Momentum	4.4.3	HW 6 Due
Week 10
11/1	Fermions, Bosons, and the Exclusion Principle	5.1.1
11/3	Exchange forces and Their Implications	5.1.2-5.1.3
11/5	Time-Independent Perturbation Theory	7.1	HW 7 Due
Week 11
11/8	Dealing with Degeneracy	7.2	Presentation Topic Approval
11/10	The Fine Structure of Hydrogen	7.3-7.4
11/12	Hyperfine Splitting	7.5	HW 8 Due
Week 12
11/15	Catch-Up Day
11/17	The Variational Principle	8.1	Mid-Term Exam II Distributed
11/19	The Simplest Multi-Electron Atom: Helium	8.2	Mid-Term Exam II Due
Week 13
11/22	Exam Corrections		Presentation Abstracts Due
11/24	Thanksgiving Break (No Class Meeting)
11/26	Thanksgiving Break (No Class Meeting)
Week 14
11/29	Chemical Bonding	8.3
12/1	Tunneling and the WKB Appoximation, Part I	9.1
12/3	Tunneling and the WKB Appoximation, Part II	9.2	HW 9 Due
Week 15
12/6	Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory	11.1
12/8	Bell's Theorem and the EPR Paradox	12.1-12.2
12/10	Final Presentations		HW 10 Due
Final Exam
12/14	Final Exam Distributed at 8:00 AM Eastern
12/16	Final Exam Due at 8:00 PM Eastern