OVERVIEW

The course describes the basic principles of quantum mechanics, its physical motivations,  its mathematical  formalisms, its main applications to atomic and molecular physics, to gases and condensed matter.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that the student will have a good knowledge of the main quantum phenomena in atoms, molecules, gas and solids.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that the student will acquire a familiarity with the basic principles which characterize the quantum description of physical phenomena and an understanding of the physical contexts in which such description is required. It is also expected that he will learn to solve simple problems involving quantum particles or simple quantum mechanical systems.

TEACHING METHODS

Traditional lectures for 70 hours. 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course, after an introduction about the early stages of the discovery of quantum theory and the description of the so-called old quantum theory,  describes the formalism of modern quantum theory and the simplest  applications of Schroedinger equation  to atomic and molecular physics.

Detail syllabus:

- The crisis of classical physics: Rutherford atom. Photoelectric effect. Specific heats. Compton effect. Emission and absorption atomic spectra.

- The old quantum theory: Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition. De Broglie wave length.  Wave-particle dualism.

- Mathematical foundations: Complex numbers, Matrices, Linear systems.  

- The formalism of quantum mechanics: the superposition principle, states, vectors, operators and observables.  Wave function in the Schrodinger representation. Spin systems.

- The Schrodinger equation and its applications: Continuous and discrete spectra. Potential wells.  Tunnel effect.  Harmonic oscillator. Periodic potentials and bands.

- The atom: Angular momentum.  Hydrogen atom.  The spin of the electron.  Identical particles and the Pauli exclusion principle. 

- Approximation methods: Stark effect. Zeeman effect. Helium atom.  Molecules and chemical bonds.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

-La fisica di Feynman, Volume 3. “Meccanica quantistica” (Zanichelli 2007);  freely available on line in english: http://www.feynmanlectures.info/

-  Lezioni di Meccanica Quantistica, L.E. Picasso, Edizioni ETS, (2000) Pisa; 

-  Chimica Fisica, Peter Atkins e Julio De Paula, (Zanichelli 2012);

- Introduction to Quantum Mechanics: S.M. Blinder (Elsevier, 2004).

- Introduction to Quantum Mechanics: David J. Griffiths (Benjamin Cumming, 2004);

- Modern Quantum Mechanics: J. J Sakurai (Addison Wesley, 1993);

- Lecture notes and problems collections available on-line: https://www.ge.infn.it/~imbimbo

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

CAMILLO IMBIMBO (President)

NICOLA MAGGIORE

NICODEMO MAGNOLI

MARIO AGOSTINO ROCCA

SILVANA TERRENI

LESSONS

Class schedule

MODERN PHYSICS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is divided into two parts, written and oral.

The written test consists of several questions or problems regarding topics covered during the course: to each question, a score is assigned and explicitly specified on the exam sheet. The sum of the scores of all the questions is 33/30. To have access to the oral exam a minimum total score of 18/30 is required.

The details of the exam modalities are illustrated to the students in class at the beginning of the course.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The questions of the written exams are of variable difficulty, in order to achieve an accurate evaluation of the competence achieved by the student. 

The oral exam is lead by the professor responsible for the course and by another expert, who is usually a professor of the department of physics. The length of the oral exam varies from 30 to 50 minutes. The oral exam is divided into two parts: the first part is a discussion of the written test, in particular of the questions or the points which have not been correctly or completely answered by the student. The second part consists of a question on a topic which is different from the ones of the written test. The student is asked to present a topic covered in the course and lecture about it on the blackboard in his own personal way,  in order to evaluate his abilities of synthesis and of personal elaboration. The score of the oral exam, maximum 6/30, is added to the score obtained in the written test to obtain the final score.

Exam schedule