PHYS402-notes

Typeset notes for UBC's PHYS 402 "Application of quantum mechanics" course. The notes cover the following topics:

1. Fundamental Concepts

• The beginnings of quantum mechanics
• The Stern-Gerlach experiment
• Basic formalism
• Observables
• Quantum measurement
• Position and momentum

2. Quantum Dynamics

• The Schrodinger equation
• The Heisenberg picture
• Ehrenfest's theorem
• The quantum harmonic oscillator

3. Quantum Information and Foundations

• Entanglement and its applications
• The no-cloning theorem
• Density operators
• Quantum cryptography
• Bell inequalities
• The Kochen-Specker Theorem

4. Symmetries and Angular Momentum

• Parity symmetry
• Lattice translation and Bloch's theorem
• Rotation symmetry
• Noether's Theorem
• Eigenvalues of Angular Momentum
• Addition of Angular Momentum
• The Wigner-Eckart Theorem

5. Approximation Methods

• Time-independent perturbation theory
• Time-dependent perturbation theory
• The WKB Approximation