The Physics of Quantum Mechanics

This book aims to give students the best possible understanding of the physical implications of quantum mechanics by explaining how quantum systems evolve in time, and showing the close parallels between quantum and classical dynamics.

The text starts by introducing probability amplitudes and stresses that the use of amplitudes rather than probabilities is what makes quantum mechanics unique. The physical significance of operators is more clearly explained than in conventional texts so the physical origin of the canonical commutation relations can be explained. The book covers topics such as entanglement, decoherence, quantum computing and the measurement problem that are not normally included in a first course in quantum mechanics. It shows that thermodynamics emerges naturally from quantum mechanics and offers an elementary yet rigorous treatment of resonant scattering and the Breit--Wigner cross section.

Dirac notation is used from the outset, so students learn early on that they are free to choose the most convenient representation for a particular problem. The mathematical development of the subject is more self-contained and rigorous than in traditional texts because most eigenvalue problems are solved by operator methods.

This edition is designed to accompany a course of lectures at Oxford University.