Quantum Mechanics by Kurt Gottfried, Tung-Mow Yan

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Synopsis

This text builds a solid introduction to the concepts and techniques of quantum mechanics in settings where the phenomena treated are sufficiently simple that the student does not face two fundamental difficulties simultaneously: viz, that of learning quantum mechanics and that of learning how to assess the validity of models or the reliability of approximations. The treatment thus confines itself to systems that can either be solved exactly or be handled by well-controlled, plausible approximations. With few exceptions, this means systems with a small number of degrees of freedom. The exceptions are a first pass at many-electron atoms, the electromagnetic field, and the Dirac equation. (The inclusion of these last two topics reflects the now widely held belief that every physicist should have at least a nodding acquaintance with these cornerstones of modern physics.)
Born in Vienna, Kurt Gottfried emigrated to Canada in 1939 and received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from MIT in 1955. He is professor of physics at Cornell University, and had previously been at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at CERN in Geneva. He is the co-author of

Biography

Kurt Gottfried Born in Vienna, Kurt Gottfried emigrated to Canada in 1939 and received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from MIT in 1955. He is professor of physics at Cornell University, and has been a Junior Fellow and assistant professor of Physics at Harvard University, a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a senior staff member at CERN in Geneva. A recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship, Dr. Gottfried is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served as chairman, Division of Particles and Fields of the American Physical Society. He is also the co-author, with V.F. Weisskopf, of Concepts of Particle Physics. Dr. Gottfried has an active interest in arms control and human rights and has testified before Congress on these issues.