Physics 256F (Fall 2005)
Introduction to Quantum Physics
 

Lecturer: Pierre Savard
                office: MP 803
                tel: 978-0764
                email: savard   (@physics.utoronto.ca)
                office hours: Friday 3-5 or by appointment

Teaching Assistants:
                               Stan Lai, MP909, 978-7114
                                      (Office hours: Tue. 4-5, Wed. 4-5)
                               Rob Adamson, MP056, 946-3162.
                                      (Office hours: Tue. 2-3, Thur. 11-12)
 

Times and Venues:
                               Lectures: MWF 11-12 in MP 103
                               Tutorial section 1: W 3-4 in MP 134
                               Tutorial section 2: F 1-2, in MP 137
 Grading:
                 Problem sets:    25%    (5 problem sets)
                 Midterm exam:  25%    (Oct. 28th, 11:00-12:00)
                 Final exam:        50%    (date determined by faculty)
 
 

 Objectives:  This is a first course in quantum mechanics.  Our goal is to help
                               you achieve an understanding of basic quantum mechanics that
                               will enable you to solve problems and prepare you for study in a
                               more advanced course PHY355F  "Quantum Mechanics I" (which
                               is actually the second course in quantum mechanics).

  Text book:

                   The required textbook for this course is "Quantum Mechanics",
                    2nd edition by Bransden and Joachain (Pearson).

   Other suggested texts:

                  Shankar's Principles of Quantum Mechanics
                  Gasiorowicz, Quantum Physics
                  Feynman's Lectures on Physics vol. III
                  Townsend's A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics
                  French and Taylor's An Introduction to Quantum Physics
                  Arfken's Mathematical Methods for Physicists

  Syllabus:
                     The material will mainly follow the contents of the textbook
                     with some addtional material aimed at providing a more in-depth
                     look at some of the topics covered in the book. We have divided
                     the course in seven sections, each taking about 2 weeks (on average).
 

                    In addition, we will add some complementary "concept-based" lectures
                    on the Bohr-Einstein debate, the EPR paradox, Aspect's expriements,
                    etc.

Requisites:

      Prerequisites:
                  PHY 138Y/140Y
      Recommended:
                  MAT 223H/240H recommended
      Co-requisites:
                  MAT 235Y/237Y/257Y

       To brush-up on your math skills and knowledge, I recommend you take
       a look at Arfken's book (see above) which is on reserve in the library.

Problem sets:

  There will be 5 problem sets during the semester.  You have to do them by
   yourself!

  The problem sets will be due 1.5 weeks after they are assigned.  The problem
  sets must be handed in before the start of the lecture.  Solutions will be
  posted on the web about 1 week after due date and NO late work will
  be accepted beyond that point.  Prior to posting solutions, late work
  will be accepted, but with a 20% penalty.  One late assignment over the
  course of the semester will be accepted without penalty.
 
 

Assignment date	Due date
Sept 23	Oct 5
Oct 5	Oct 14
Nov 2	Nov 11
Nov 11	Nov 23
Nov 23	Dec 2

 Some web links:

 Group velocity applet:

     http://Galileo.phys.Virginia.EDU/classes/109N/more_stuff/Applets/sines/GroupVelocity.html

 Gaussian wave packet:

     http://yepes.rice.edu/PhysicsApplets/GaussianPacket.html

 Examples of Fourier transforms:

    http://www.physics.ucdavis.edu/Classes/NonclassicalPhysics/FourierTransform/

 Examples of 1-D problems:

      http://www.falstad.com/qm1d/

 Lecture slides and problem set solutions:

  can be found here