.
Aside from the fourth chapter (which is weak at best) and the cumbersome notation, this is one of the best textbooks for quantum mechanics out there. Chapter 1 is the best discussion of linear algebra in quantum mechanics I have ever seen, and it alone is worth about $40. Although sometimes a little scattershot, the third chapter, on angular momentum, is also the best introduction to the theory of angular momentum I have ever seen. The text does not baby you like some undergraduate texts (the Griffiths immediately comes to mind), and treats you like an actual physicist capable of working through some pretty complicated problems.
Perturbation theory is an almost purely mathematical tool with very little physical "intuition" to be had, and therefore these sections of the book are not bad.
As far as I can tell, with Baym out of the picture, the race for "standard" graduate school textbook on QM is a dead heat between the established Sakurai and the upstart Shankar, and both books have their ups and downs. The Shankar can be too long-winded at times, although it covers path integration in much greater depth than the Sakurai. However, the Sakurai's treatment of symmetry operations is much more in-depth than the Shankar's. As far as I am concerned, the only way to get the best of both worlds right now is to drop the cash and read both books. The Sakurai is probably a much better way to learn the subject, but there are a few holes in Sakurai that Shankar covers well, although with a verbose style and with very simple problems.
Book Description
A modern presentation of theoretical solid state physics that builds directly upon Kittel's Introduction to Solid State Physics. Treats phonon, electron, and magnon fields, culminating in the BCS theory of superconductivity. Considers Fermi surfaces and electron wave functions and develops the group theoretical description of Brillouin zones. Applies correlation functions to time-dependent effects in solids, with an introduction to Green's functions. With 110 problems, the text is well-suited for the classroom or for self-instruction.
Customer Reviews:
Still a good book.......2003-02-21
It is too bad this book is out of print, for it gives a good introduction to the quantum theory as applied to condensed matter, despite the many advances that have taken place since the date of publication, such as high-temperature superconductivity, the fractional quantum Hall effect, and nanoscale physics. Therefore, if a copy can be found, it is still worth perusing and having on one's shelf. I only read the first 8 chapters of the book, so my review will be confined to them.
After a brief introduction to the mathematics needed in the book, the author begins in chapter 2 with a treatment of acoustic phonons, which arise from the canonical quantization of the transverse motion of a continuous elastic line under tension. This object is handled using the Lagrangian formalism, and after finding the Hamiltonian density, employing a canonical transformation, the (bosonic) creation and annihilation operators are found: phonon excitations. Both longitudinal and transverse modes are shown to exist in general. Bogoliubov transformations are then used to show how phonons may arise in a system of weakly interacting particles. The author then derives the expression for the velocity of "second sound" in a phonon gas. Experimental evidence for second sound in liquid helium was known at the time of publication, but since then evidence has accumulated in Bose gases and in certain types of crystals, such as KTaO and SrTiO. The phenomenon of second sound has also been of considerable interest in the study of nonlinear optical phenomena in smectic liquid crystals. The author also discusses the occurence of van Hove singularities in the phonon frequency distribution function, and points to their connection with Morse theory.
In chapter 3 the author concentrates his attention on plasmons, which arises from longitudinal excitations in an electron gas, and optical phonons in ionic crystals. He then extends the latter analysis to include the interaction of optical phonons with photons, which he also treats using quantum field theory, giving what he calls a quantum theory of a classical dielectric.
The theory of spin waves, or "magnons" is discussed in chapter 4, wherein the author first treats ferromagnetic magnons via the consideration of the Hamiltonian consisting of nearest-neighbor exchange and Zeeman contributions. The dispersion relation for both optical and acoustical magnons in a spin system forming a Bravais lattice is derived and compared with experiment for magnetite. The author then treats antiferromagnetic magnons and discusses the zero-point sublattice magnetization and the heat capacity of antiferromagnets. He then returns to ferromagnetic magnons but from a more macroscopic point of view, treating the magnetization as a macroscopic field, rather than dealing with individual spins. Lastly, he considers the excitation of ferromagnetic magnons by parallel pumping and the temperature dependence of effective exchange.
After a short review of the Hartree-Fock approximation in chapter 5, the author considers the all-important electron gas in chapter 6. The electron gas, particularly in two dimensions, has been the subject of great interest since this book was first published, not only because of its technological importance, but also its role in the quantum Hall effect and the fractional quantum Hall effect. Although density functional and renormalization group methods are the current favored ones for studying the electron gas, readers can still gain much from the reading of the chapter. The author concentrates his attention on the approximate calculation of the correlation energy of the degenerate electron gas, particularly at high density. To do this he uses the self-consistent field approach and he exploits the frequency and wavevector dielectric constant as a tool for studying many-body interactions. Several bread-and-butter topics in quantum many-body theory appear in this chapter, such as the linked cluster expansion, which appear in other more complicated (relativistic) contexts, such as high energy physics.
The author introduces polarons in chapter 7 as a consequence of any deformation of the ideal periodic lattice of positive ion cores on the motion of conduction electrons, and notes that even the zero-point motion of phonons effects this motion. The interaction of an electron with the lattice results in a "lattice polarization field" around the electron, and the resulting composite particle is the polaron, which, as expected, has a larger effective mass then the electron in an unperturbed lattice. The electron-phonon interaction results in resistivity, results in attenuation of ultrasonic waves in metals, and results in some cases to an attractive interaction between electrons, this being one of the precursors of superconductivity. The problem of electron-phonon interaction in metals has been the subject of much study in attempts to give quantum field theory a rigorous mathematical foundation, particularly via the study of the "jellium model".
Chapter 8 is very important, and its content reveals again the age of the book. The phenomenon of superconductivity, and its description by the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory, is known as one of the triumphs of the quantum theory of solids. Of course, when this book was published, superconducting materials at high temperature, were not known. The author though gives a detailed overview of the BCS theory, starting with the Hamiltonian for the electrons, phonons, and their first-order interactions (the strength measured by a certain real constant D). Using a canonical transformation, the author reduces the Hamiltonian to one with no off-diagonal terms of order D. This results in an expression for an electron-electron interaction which can be attractive for excitation energies in a certain range (involving the Debye energy). Keeping only this interaction in the Hamiltonian, for wave vectors that satisfy this range constraint, the author studies the properties of bound electron pairs, and shows how they bring about superconductivity. He also outlines an alternative solution to the BCS equation, using what he calls the equation-of-motion method. More modern treatments of superconductivity employ the use of Higgs fields and the renormalization group, these approaches shedding light on whether one can indeed view superconductivity as a "macroscopic manifestation of quantum physics".
Good Overall Review of Advanced Solid State Theory.......2000-05-28
A good book in addition to another introductory text. I covers the subject manner in an orderly fashion and reviews the theory in an intricate fashion. However, the mathematical notation is not what one would expect from other Solid State texts however the same conventions are used from his introductory book on Solid State Physics. An excellent investment for those interested.
Excellent book!.......2000-03-30
This book contains all the necessary formalism to become aquainted with many-body theory and Green's functions. The writing is clear and to the point.
Book Description
This book gives a modern, comprehensive introduction to the principles of quantum mechanics, to the main approximation methods and to the application of quantum theory to a wide variety of systems. The needs of students having an average mathematical ability are kept very much in mind, with the avoidance of complex mathematical arguments and any undue compression of material
Customer Reviews:
A quantum leap in the right direction!.......2007-02-27
This book is a rare Physics text that successfully bridges the gap from the undergrad to the grad curriculum. The math is accessible to anyone who has passed Junior level linear algebra and math methods while the Physics is more detailed than that of the typical undergrad quantum mechanics course. The authors give careful details of many important calculations, together with the interpretations of the steps in the context of both math and physics. All these features together with the clarity of the writing and diagrams go to make this a great transitional text.
Throughout the book Bransden and Joachain give equal importance to the wave and matrix formalisms of quantum mechanics. A nice feature of this book is the presentation of the Schrodinger equation in momentum space - a treatment not found in much detail in many undergrad texts. Significant amounts of theoretical background required by Chemists (especially on atomic spectra) is also developed in the book. This renders the text of use to Chemistry majors who have had the requisite mathematical background mentioned earlier on in this review.
I bought this book as a Senior but kept referring to it again and again as a grad student. Recently, I've begun to rely on it for the Quantum Mechanics portion of the Modern Physics class that I now teach. Each time I look at it, I appreciate the clarity, breadth and depth of the material presented. This tome is definitely worthy of greater publicity.
Excellent.......2006-10-27
This is a great book. The most comprehensive undergrad QM book there is. Everything is clear and to the point-- no unnecessary fluff and no skimping out on the math (for the most part). If you find the Griffiths text to be lacking then I highly recommend this one. Although I will say this is written more like a Math book than a physics book (which I happen to like). The problems at the end of the chapter certainly reflect this as they are usually of the form: Prove equation .... Show that the energy levels are approximately ....
The fundamental difference between B&J and Griffiths is that Griffiths will often leave important results as problems-- whereas B&J will not skip out on them. While it is instructive to work out the important stuff at least once-- its pretty damn annoying when you're trying to review the material later on and don't want to work anything out.
This book has more than you'll ever need as an undergrad. I'm also surprised that a book of this caliber is so cheap. Buy it-- its worth the money.
The best advanced undergraduate quantum text book.......2002-10-17
In my oponion this book is one of the best books about quantum mechancis. It has very good explanations and clear expression. I have studied several books about quantum mechanics such as Gasiorowics, Liboff and Ohanian but this book is the best one.
45656.......2002-04-23
I've scanned through at least 10 QM textbooks for advanced undergraduate and none is better than this!!!!! If you find this book too easy, then try Sakurai' QM, even though it cost twice the price.
If you like neither, then I recommnend the magazine "Maxim". It's probably more exciting to you then.
One of the best books available on the subject.......2000-07-09
While studying for qualifier exams I relied heavily on this text. This should be on every physics students shelf.
Book Description
The Manchester Physics Series General Editors: D. J. Sandiford; F. Mandl; A. C. Phillips Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester Properties of Matter B. H. Flowers and E. Mendoza Optics Second Edition F. G. Smith and J. H. Thomson Statistical Physics Second Edition E. Mandl Electromagnetism Second Edition I. S. Grant and W. R. Phillips Statistics R. J. Barlow Solid State Physics Second Edition J. R. Hook and H. E. Hall Quantum Mechanics F. Mandl Particle Physics Second Edition B. R. Martin and G. Shaw The Physics of Stars Second Edition A. C. Phillips Computing for Scientists R. J. Barlow and A. R. Barnett Statistical Physics, Second Edition develops a unified treatment of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, which emphasises the statistical nature of the laws of thermodynamics and the atomic nature of matter. Prominence is given to the Gibbs distribution, leading to a simple treatment of quantum statistics and of chemical reactions. Undergraduate students of physics and related sciences will find this a stimulating account of the basic physics and its applications. Only an elementary knowledge of kinetic theory and atomic physics, as well as the rudiments of quantum theory, are presupposed for an understanding of this book. Statistical Physics, Second Edition features:
- A fully integrated treatment of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.
- A flow diagram allowing topics to be studied in different orders or omitted altogether.
- Optional "starred" and highlighted sections containing more advanced and specialised material for the more ambitious reader.
- Sets of problems at the end of each chapter to help student understanding. Hints for solving the problems are given in an Appendix.
Customer Reviews:
Good title for self-study.......2007-01-16
I originally wanted to obtain a self-study guide for thermodynamics and statistical physics. I noticed that F. Mandl's book was always checked out at the local university library which could have implied it was a certain professor's favorite reading assignment, but the current Amazon reviews gave it an excellent grade.
I have completed the first chapter and exercises thus far. I have to say that the presentation of the first law of T.D. is very simple, but the exerices are much more challenging than the chapter contents and examples. I have broswed the other chapters and read subsections, and so far the book seems to be written very well and to the point. One of the best things about this book is the Hints for solving problems (which is really a small solution appendix). I would already have carried forward several errors if not for this material. Even if you've taken an introductory sequence in the past, it is good to lay aside your assumptions and allow Mandl to navigate you through without prior prejudice.
Very suitable for self-study.......2006-04-11
Pedagogically speaking, this is probably the best intermediate level statistical physics book out there. The concepts are laid out very clearly and logically. The examples are very useful and effective.
Maybe the best part of the book is that is contains solutions (not just answers!) to the end-of-chapter problems, which makes it a student-friendly textbook. Therefore it is very suitable for those who like self-studying.
It is a relatively short book, but it includes only the essentials, it does not inundate you with fancy details. Very strongly recommended!
Good first book on statistical physcs + thermodynamics.......2004-11-14
This book has for many years been the book on our University's
second-year course on thermodynamics and statistical physics. It gives a good introduction to both topics and especially
how the two relate to each other. It is mostly clearly written and
has good examples. It is not perfect by any means, e.g.
the blackbody radiation is inexplicably presented before the
Bose-Einstein distribution is derived, and the example
on the Clausius-Clapeyron equation uses an unnecessarily
crude approximation, but overall it still remains one of
the best conxise texts on the subject.
My Favorite Physics Book.......2002-03-14
This book is really one of the most interesting books I've ever read, and is my favorite book in phyics. The writing style is clear, the figures and graphs well-done, and the book contains valuable exercises and partial solutions. As an undergraduate text it requires a basic background in diff. eq., classical mechanics, e&m etc, but never gets too intimidating. In a graduate statmech class I found the background I received from Mandl carried me almost all the way through. What a great book!
Review by a graduate student........1998-07-31
Thermodynamics gives a phenomenological description of properties of matter that are dependent on temperature. Whereas Statistical Physics attempts to give a microscopic view point of properties of matterThere is no concept of heat as such in the statistical approach . The two subjects though different in their approach complement each other. The crux of the difficulty is a begginner must try not imagine very much in a microscopic level when he learns thermodynamics. But when a student learns Statistical Physics he has to imagine in microscopic terms. There are usually two broad varieties of text books, Those which emphasize thermodynamics and leave statistical physics. But the worst case is books which start with a microscopic view.(e.g books by Pippard , Zemansky & Dittmanetc) These books fail to make a student appreciate the beauty and mathematical completeness of classical thermodynamics.(e.g popular books by Rief Kittel & Kromer,Baierlin). I have seen a ! few friends of mine who could manipulate details from partitiomn functions , but they don't understand even the first twolaws of thermodynamics. Here is where Mandl's book succeeds.It introduces both the subjects in such a meticulous way that you don't feel pertuturbed by the different views. The book is short and yet comprehensive.It covers few well known examples like paramagnetism , blackbody radiation in detail. The advanced portions are maked with asterisks or gray tint(this is typical of all books in the series. I would recommend this book instead of two sepeate courses on thermodynamics and Statistical Physics. Though the approach is not in chronological order it avoids much tautology of learning and unlearnig between the macroscpic and microscopic view.Yet another noteworthy aspect is a good treatment of open systems via the grand canonical ensemble in the last chapter. The problems in this book are superb. There are a few confidence building problems and there are hi! nts , answers and even complete solutions for tougher probl! emsThis book is ideally suited for both class room and self study..
Book Description
Provides a systematic and orderly development of the whole of quantum mechanics in terms of its applications to atomic, nuclear, particle, and solid state physics.
Customer Reviews:
Review of Quantum Mechanics by E. Merzbacher.......2005-12-21
In my opinion the critical problem with this book is that it fails to put quantum mechanics in the context of physical science. The entire book reads like a mathematical exercise contrived by a person to test/entertain other people, rather than the documentation of refined mathematical statements of empirical observations. Others have said it is hard to read, this is true. They have said the organisation is not great, this is also true, but the larger issue, once again in my oppinion, is that the book does not relate the mathematical act of DOING quantum mechanics calculations to the the physical world. Although this is a common malady amongts physics textbooks, texts on Quantum Mechanics by J.J. Sakurai and D.J. Griffiths, the former an advanced text, the latter introductory, manage to better put the mathematical theory in proper physical context. Buy it because its required for most graduate level Quantum Mechanics courses, but be prepared to consult other texts in order to develop an understanding of quantum mechanics.
Complete and Thorough.......2004-02-09
I took the University of Michigan's Physics 511 course from this book. At first I found it too wordy and indirect but over the course of the term it really grew on me. Merzbacher's discussion of 2nd quantization (and the QSHO problem in general) is superb as is his sections on the Feynman path integral representation. Definitely my first choice amongst similar texts such as Sakurai, Shankar, and Cohen-Tannoudji.
A failed attempt.......2003-09-11
This book was originally written to make Schiffs book on quantum mechanics available to a wider audience. It was supposed to be simpler and more readable. Never happened. It is too wordy by far and many topics are actually covered very superficially with the student then being expected to solve difficult problems as though the treatment had been complete. Unfortunately, this is a common malady of physics texts. If you want a wordy, good, reasonably complete, text then Messiah's book is excellent.
Maybe a Decent Reference, but Bad to Learn From.......2003-03-06
I would give it 2.5 stars if I could - I don't think it quite deserves 3.
A wealth of information. If you're looking for it, it's probably at least mentioned in here if it's mentioned in any QM textbook anywhere. Might make a good reference, then.
However, as a book to learn from it seems generally obtuse difficult to read (though some sections are better or worse than others). It isn't just that it's abstract or mathematical - I don't mind that at all; in fact that's one of the strengths of this book in my opinion - but that the necessary explanation just isn't there, or is ineffective.
This book is unreadable.......2001-10-10
I was lucky to have other books and a great instructor in Quantum Mechanics, otherwise I wouldn't have learned the subject at all. The language of this book is very dry and abstract at the same time, leaving the reader without an idea of what it all has to do with the real life. The approach to teaching is by no means classical and lacks examples. Another thing that I didn't like (and that unfortunately occurs so often in scientific literature) is the way references were handled: the author would send you 10 chapters back to substitute formulas 178 and 186 into another one 5 chapters back to get a result on the current page, whereas in good books relevant formulas would just be re-typed once again for reader's convenience.
Having said all that, I also need to say that the author did a good job picking the problems for this text. They are of moderate difficulty and well related to the discussion in a preceding chapter.
Book Description
The first edition of Gauge Field Theories, published in 1985, quickly became widely used in universities and other institutions of higher learning around the world. Written by well-known physicist Paul Frampton, the new edition continues to offer a first-rate mathematical treatment of gauge field theories, while thoroughly updating all chapters to keep pace with developments in the field. Frampton emphasizes formalism rather than experiments and provides sufficient detail for readers wishing to do their own calculations or pursue theoretical physics research. Special features of the Second Edition include:
* Improved, logical organization of the material on gauge invariance, quantization, and renormalization
* Major revision of the chapter on electroweak interactions, incorporating the latest precision data and discovery of the top quark
* Discussions of renormalization group and quantum chromodynamics
* A completely new chapter on model building
Average customer rating:
|
Lectures in Quantum Optics: An Introduction, 2nd Edition
Werner Vogel ,
Dirk-Gunnar Welsch , and
Sascha Wallentowitz
Manufacturer: Wiley-VCH
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 352740256X |
Book Description
This is the revised and supplemented edition of the acknowledged "Lectures on Quantum Optics" by W. Vogel and D.-G. Welsch. It offers theoretical concepts of quantum optics, with special emphasis on current research trends. Quantum-state reconstruction and laser-driven quantized motion of trapped atoms are new topics that are included in the revised edition. The rigorous development of quantum optics in the context of quantum field theory and the attention spent to details make the book valuable to graduate students as well as to researchers in related areas.
From the contents:
1. Introduction; 2. Elements of quantum electrodynamics; 3. Quantum states of bosonic systems; 4. Phase-space representations; 5. Quantum theory of damping; 6. Photoelectric detection of light; 7. Quantum-state reconstruction; 8. Non-classical states; 9. Leaky optical cavities; 10. Theory of resonance fluorescence; 11. A single atom in a high-Q cavity; 12. Laser-driven quantized motion of a trapped atom
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- Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (2nd Edition)
- Introduction to the Finite Element Method
- Introduction to the Theory of Neural Computation (Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity)
- Introduction to Transportation Engineering
- Kendall's Advanced Theory of Statistics: Volume 2B: Bayesian Inference (Arnold Publication)
- Lasers and Optical Fibers in Medicine (Physical Techniques in Biology and Medicine)
- Little, Brown Essential Handbook, The (5th Edition)
- Many-Particle Physics (Physics of Solids and Liquids)
- Markov Decision Processes: Discrete Stochastic Dynamic Programming (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics)
- Mathematical Methods of Classical Mechanics (Graduate Texts in Mathematics)
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Schaum's Outline of Quantum Mechanics (Schaum's)
Excellent model on how to not write a textbook.......2007-07-25
