Junior and Senior level courses for majors share textbooks. The recommended (NOT required) text for this particular course is:

McIntryre, Quantum Mechanics, 1st ed. Pearson, 2012, ISBN 13: 978-0-321-76579-6

We will also be using assigned readings from a (free) online textbooks:

The Geometry of Mathematical Methods

The online text is underdevelopment. If you would like a complete and published mathematical methods textbook, we recommend: Boas (Boas), Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, 3rd ed., Wiley, 2005. ISBN 978-0-471-19826-0

We will be using the computer algebra system Mathematica in several of the upper-division physics courses. Students who wish to put a copy of Mathematica on their privately owned computer (helpful, but not required) should contact COSINe for current academic licensing information. During non-Covid, the physics majors' study room (Weniger 304F), with many machines running this software, are open at all times to enrolled students. See the physics department office for information about keys to Weniger 304F.

• 1) Express a quantum state as a linear combination of eigenstates and interpret the expansion coefficients as probability amplitudes
• 2) Express quantum states and perform quantum calculation in matrix, Dirac, or wavefunction notation, as appropriate
• 3) Interpret and predict the probabilistic outcomes of sequential Stern-Gerlach experiments, including a quantum interferometer
• 4) Calculate energy eigenvalues and eigenstates from a Hamiltonian
• 5) Use commutation relations to identify an uncertainty relation between observables
• 6) Use the Schroedinger equation to determine the time evolution of a spin quantum system or particles in an infinite or finite 1D potential well
• 7) Qualitatively sketch a wavefunction in a 1D potential and describe important features such as boundary conditions, oscillatory/exponential behavior, amplitude, and wavenumber
• 8) Grad: Communicate graduate level understanding of spin systems and a quantum particle in a box to both peers and instructors.

• 1) Classical Angular Momentum & Magnetic Moment
• 2) Stern-Gerlach Experiments & Quantum Measurement
• 3) Postulates of Quantum Mechanics
• 4) Measurement Probabilities
• 5) Observables & Operators
• 6) Time Evolution of Quantum Systems
• 7) Spin Systems
• 8) The Infinite Square Well

Your course score will be determined by the higher of these calculations:

1. HW & Exams: 50% Required Homework, 50% Final Exam
2. Exam Only: 100% Final Exam

Notes:

• Homework: The best way to learn the material of this course is to attend class and do the homework.
• Practice Problems: We will sometimes provide Practice Problems. These are meant to be review or relatively simple examples for you to check whether you understand the material. They will not be graded. Solutions will be posted at the same time as the practice problems. We recommend that you at least read each practice problem. If you don't know how to do it, ask for help.
• Required Problems: Required homework is due on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please submit via Gradescope by 10 pm on the due date. Some Required Problems will be graded for correctness; others will be graded for completeness. Solutions will be posted online after the due date.
• Late Homework: We really want you to do the homework, so we will absolutely accept late homework (with a penalty of 20% for late work with higher penalties if the work is very late). When you know that an assignment will be late, let me and the grader know as soon as possible. Turn in what you've completed at the due/date time (it'll help us with grading logistics). Any portion of the work that is turned in on time will not be subject to the late penalty. Please consult the instructor for extenuating circumstances.
• Final: The final exam will occur from 6-8 pm on March 16, 2021. It will be administered remotely.

Additional Guidance

• You are strongly encouraged to work on assignments, including coding and plotting, collaboratively. Science is inherently a social and collaborative effort! So that we can best support your learning, you are required to turn in assignments that you have written up independently.
• Appropriate resources on assignments include: working with each other, graduates of the course, the course TAs and LAs, or the course instructor; textbooks; other online materials, etc. Do not use homework solutions from previous years and do not share your completed homework solutions with other students (in other words, collaborate through discussion, not copying).
• Document your resources appropriately. If you find a homework problem worked out somewhere (other than homework solutions from a previous year), you may certainly use that resource, just make sure you reference it properly. If someone else helps you solve a problem, reference that too. An appropriate reference might be "Liz Gire (private communication, 1/15/21)" or "I worked with Liz Gire on this problem". Representing someone else’s work as your own without reference – also known as plagiarism - is unethical, but collaboration and exchange of ideas is healthy. You can avoid having collaborative efforts take on the look of plagiarism by acknowledging sources as described above and by writing up your work independently.
• The problems in this course will likely take longer than problems you've seen in previous courses. If you find that you have worked on a problem for 1/2 hour WITHOUT MAKING FORWARD PROGRESS, it's time to pause, take a break, sleep, and seek help from classmates or the instructional team.