Quantum Theory

Phys 351, Fall 2023

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 Society of Black Physicists

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).

Instructor Drop-In Hours

My instructor drop-in hours this semester will be held in Hugel 125. (These are sometimes referred to as "office hours," but in this case that's a misnomer in this case because Hugel 125 is not my office.) These drop-in hours are listed below:


• Tues., 1:00 - 2:00 PM
• Wed., 1:30 - 3:00 PM
• Fri., 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

The default assumption is that my drop-in hours will take place in person. However, if the need arises for you to attend my drop-in hours virtually at any point during the semester (e.g., because of a winter-weather emergency or because you are isolating due to COVID-19), please email me in advance to schedule a virtual drop-in-hours meeting.

Course Schedule

Date	Topic	Reading	Homework
Week 1
8/28	Introduction	1.1-1.2
8/30	Probability and the Wavefunction	1.3-1.4
9/1	Quantum Uncertainty and the de Broglie Relation	1.5-1.6	HW 0 Due
Week 2
9/4	The Infinite Square Well	2.1-2.2
9/6	The Free Particle	2.4
9/8	Boundary Conditions and the Finite Square Well	2.6	HW 1 Due
Week 3
9/11	Potential Barriers	2.5
9/13	Quantum Harmonic Oscillator, Part I	2.3.1
9/15	Quantum Harmonic Oscillator, Part II	2.3.2	HW 2 Due
Week 4
9/18	Linear Algebra Review	Appendix A
9/20	Hilbert Space	3.1
9/22	Observables and Eigenvalues	3.2-3.3	HW 3 Due
Week 5
9/25	The Generalized Statistical Interpretation	3.4
9/27	Deriving the Uncertainty Principle	3.5
9/29	Dirac Notation	3.6	HW 4 Due
Week 6
10/2	Particle in a Three-Dimensional Box	4.1 (Intro)
10/4	Brooks in Oklahoma (No Class Meeting)		Mid-Term Exam I Distributed
10/6	The Schrödinger Equation in Spherical Coordinates	4.1.1	Mid-Term Exam I Due
Week 7
10/9	Fall Break (No Class Meeting)
10/11	Wavefunctions in Spherical Coordinates	4.1.2
10/12	The Radial Equation (Make-Up Class Meeting from 7:10 - 8:00 PM)	4.1.3
10/13	The Hydrogen Atom, Part I	4.2.1
Week 8
10/16	The Hydrogen Atom, Part II	4.2.2
10/18	Angular Momentum, Part I	4.3.1
10/20	Angular Momentum, Part II	4.3.2	HW 5 Due
Week 9
10/23	Spin	4.4.1
10/25	Spin and Magnetic Fields	4.4.2
10/27	Addition of Angular Momentum, Part I	4.4.3	HW 6 Due
Week 10
10/30	Addition of Angular Momentum, Part II	4.4.3
11/1	Fermions, Bosons, and the Exclusion Principle	5.1.1
11/3	Exchange forces and Their Implications	5.1.2-5.1.3	HW 7 Due
Week 11
11/6	Catch-Up Day		Presentation Topic Approval
11/8	Time-Independent Perturbation Theory	7.1
11/10	Dealing with Degeneracy	7.2	HW 8 Due
Week 12
11/13	The Fine Structure of Hydrogen	7.3-7.4
11/15	Hyperfine Structure	7.5	Mid-Term Exam II Distributed
11/17	The Variational Principle	8.1	Mid-Term Exam II Due
Week 13
11/20	Documentary: "The Path to Nuclear Fission: The Story of Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn"		Presentation Abstracts Due
11/22	Thanksgiving Break (No Class Meeting)
11/24	Thanksgiving Break (No Class Meeting)
Week 14
11/27	The Simplest Multi-Electron Atom: Helium	8.2
11/29	Chemical Bonding	8.3
12/1	Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory	11.1	HW 9 Due
Week 15
12/4	Bell's Theorem and the EPR Paradox	12.1-12.2
12/6	Final Presentations, Day 1
12/8	Final Presentations, Day 2		HW 10 Due
Final Exam
12/12	Final Exam Distributed at 8:00 AM Eastern
12/14	Final Exam Due at 8:00 PM Eastern