Quantum mechanics Definition and 994 Threads

I'd like to draw attention to a very recent paper by Jürg Fröhlich, a well-known mathematical physicist from the ETH Zürich. It starts out as follows: Section 2 is titled ''Standard formulation of Quantum Mechanics and its shortcomings''. Surely @vanhees71 has very convincing reasons why this...

In a book it says that "we know of quantum phenomena in the electromagnetic field that represents a failure of superposition,seen from the viewpoint of the classical theory." I want to about what quantum phenomena is he talking about? This was from the page 11 of the book Electricity And...

In analogy to classical mechanics, I thought a good definition to "What does "solving a quantum mechanics problem" mean?" was to give the propagator (aka the Green function, or the 2-point correlation function): In classical mechanics, solving a problem means to give the path of the particle...

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I just tried to find the eigenvalues (for the energy), obtaining E = ±(γħ.√(Bo² + Γo²))/2 and the corresponding eigenvectors for the H matrix. But I don't know what to do to create de state vector χ.

##U_1 \otimes U_2 = (1- i H_1 \ dt) \otimes (1- i H_2 \ dt)## We can write ## | \phi_i(t) > \ = U_i(t) | \phi_i(0)>## where i can be 1 or 2 depending on the subsystem. The ## U ##'s are unitary time evolution operators. Writing as tensor product we get ## |\phi_1 \phi_2> = (1- i H_1 \ dt) |...

Hello, I know we have the parity operator for inversion in quantum mechanics and for rotations we have the exponentials of the angular momentum/spin operators. But what if I want to write the operator that represent a reflection for example just switching y to -y, the matrix in real space...

Hi all, How to derive the energy of a parabolic confining potential in a wire as shown below? I tried to follow the derivation of the harmonic, oscillator like we did for the quantum well and the magnetic field but i can't find anything that has an expression that come close to the one shown...

By the Wigner theorem, symmetries transformations are implemented by operators ##\hat{U}## that are unitary or antiunitary. This is what is written in most books. But I have read somewhere that, to ##\hat{U}## represent a symmetrie, it's necessary that ##\hat{U}^{\dagger} \hat{H} \hat{U} =...

I have found the following explanation: Isn't ##l \hbar = mvR## (semi-classical argument) wrong? I'd state ##mvR = \sqrt{l(l+1)} \hbar## instead. Text is coming from Introduction to Nuclear Physics; Krane, pages 87 and 88.

I understand partly what he is saying, but can you discount the measurement effect as a feature of the world? Aren't measurement effects going on all the time between macroscopic and microscopic systems, making it in practice, at times, an indeterministic world? Or is he assuming that...

I want to compute the fraction of time both particles spend outside the finite potential well. All I can get is the probability to find them outside. The wavefunction outside the potential is: $$\frac{d^2\psi}{dr^2} = -L^2 \psi$$ Where: $$L = \sqrt{\frac{2mE}{\hbar^2}}$$ Solving the...

Hi all, I am an undergraduate junior majoring in materials science who would like some advice with respect to which courses to take for the fall semester of my senior year. Some background: I am a materials science student and I intend to study spintronics and topological insulators for my...

(Simplified version of Baym, Chapter 19, Problem 2) Calculate, to first order in the inter-particle interaction V(r-r'), the energy of an N+1 particle system of spin-1/2 fermions with on particle of momentum p outside an N-particle Fermi sea (quasiparticle state). The answer should be expressed...

Dear all, I've been reading and got confused of the concept below have two questions question 1) For <ψ|HA|ψ> = <Hψ|A|ψ>, why does the Hamiltonian operator acting on the bra state and <ψ|AH|ψ> in this configuration it will act on the ket state? question 2) what does it mean for H|ψ> = |Hψ>...

Homework Statement An electron is at rest in an oscillating magnetic field $$ \mathbf B = B_0 cos\left( ωt \right) \hat k $$ where ##B_0## and ##ω## are constants. What is the minimum field (##B_0##) required to force a complete flip in ##S_x##? Homework Equations $$H=- γ \mathbf B \cdot...

Homework Statement Construct the four lowest-energy configurations for particles of spin-##\frac{1}{2}## in the infinite square well, and specify their energies and their degeneracies. Suggestion: use the notation ##\psi_{n_1,n_2}(x_1, x_2) |s,m>##. The notation is defined in the textbook...

Hi, my teacher showed us how we can derive de relation between spectral radiance and density of cavity (of a black hole), but I have a doubt. This is the equation of the energy that are coming from definited directions by the intervals of angles θ and Φ with frequency in a determined interval...

Does anybody know what the connection is between Wallis' formula for ##\pi## and quantum mechanics? There was an article about it: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/aiop-ndo110915.php but like all articles for the lay public, all the details were left out. Wallis' formula is...

Homework Statement Hi, I am new to MATLAB and have an assignment where I have to construct a Hamiltonian matrix, apply boundary conditions, then find corresponding eigenvalues and eigenvectors for the electron in a box problem. I am stumped where to start. From our class we learned that you...

One sees "Collapse" language all the time, and yet it seems there's a very simple argument that shows that it's not necessary. Suppose we measure ##\hat A## twice, at an earlier and at a later time, then the joint probability density for the measurement results being ##u## and ##v##...

Homework Statement 1) Calculate the density of states for a free particle in a three dimensional box of linear size L. 2) Show that ##\int f \nabla g \, d^3 x=-\int g \nabla f \, d^3 x## provided that ##lim_{r \rightarrow \inf} [f(x)g(x)]=0## 3) Calculate the integral ##\int...

When we make a symmetrie transformation in a quantum system, the state ##|\psi \rangle## change to ## |\psi' \rangle = U|\psi \rangle##, where ##U## is a unitary or antiunitary operator, and the operator ##A## change to ##A'##. If we require that the expections values of operators don't change...

Greg Bernhardt submitted a new blog post A Classical View of the Qubit Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

We need quantum physics for cognitive neuroscience ?

I've been reading this book, in which the author expresses the vacuum projection operator ##\vert 0\rangle\langle 0\vert## in terms of the number operator ##\hat{N}=\hat{a}^{\dagger}\hat{a}##, where ##\hat{a}^{\dagger}## and ##\hat{a}## are the usual creation and annihilation operators...

I'm not sure where this post belongs--here, or nuclear chemistry, quantum mechanics, NMR spectroscopy, etc. Moderator--please feel free to move it to a better location. I'm wondering if a container of liquid hydrogen subjected to a strong magnetic field would have both nuclei of each atom...

Homework Statement Homework Equations VD= -1/(8m2c2) [pi,[pi,Vc(r)]] VC(r) = -Ze2/r Energy shift Δ = <nlm|VD|nlm> The Attempt at a Solution I can't figure out how to evaluate the expectation values that result from the Δ equation. When I do out the commutator, I get p2V-2pVp+Vp2. This...

I've struggled to understand quantum mechanics for many years. I've recently written some notes on the subject that address some of the issues that I've found confusing and that I think might be helpful to others. The moderators on Physics Forums, quite reasonably, won't allow me to publicise...

Could someone, in laymen's terms explain to me what stochastic mechanics is?

Let us consider QFT in Minkowski spacetime. Let ##\phi## be a Klein-Gordon field with mass ##m##. One way to construct the Hilbert space of this theory is to consider ##L^2(\Omega_m^+,d^3\mathbf{p}/p^0)## where ##\Omega_m^+## is the positive mass shell. This comes from the requirement that there...

I am studying how to determine the nuclear charge radius from direct measurement of the Coulomb energy differences of nuclei. My book says that there is strong evidence which suggests that the nuclear force does not distinguish between protons and neutrons. Thus changing a proton into a...

A physicist prepares a box and tells us that in the box there is a cat that is in a superposition of being alive and being dead. How can we be sure whether they're telling the truth? Is the state a superposition or a mixture? If we open the box and measure only whether the cat is alive, using...

1. Homework Statement Consider a potential field $$V(r)=\begin{cases}\infty, &x\in(-\infty,0]\\\frac{\hslash^2}{m}\Omega\delta(x-a), &x\in(0,\infty)\end{cases}$$ The eigenfunction of the wave function in this field suffices...

Greg Bernhardt submitted a new blog post 9 Reasons Quantum Mechanics is Incomplete Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

Recently, I've been told I was wrong concerning the nature of stationary states and diffusion being related. Even though I pointed out to the people involved that I was merely paraphrasing Max Born, who was apparently quoting the same idea as Linus Pauling. No one has been able to tell me...

Does Bohmian mechanics have a mathematically well-defined initial-value problem with unique solution for given initial data? The right hand side of the guiding equation has singularities at all configuration space positions where ##\psi## vanishes. Thus the particle dynamics breaks down. Thus...

I would like to know which books are the main sources for the Quantum mechanics 1/2 courses, and the professors use them most during their courses? Thanks for you reply in advance.

Hi. I really like this book (2nd edition) and was thinking of buying it. I have seen mention of a new edition , the 3rd edition but it seems to be unavailable to buy. Anyone know if the 3rd edition is out yet or soon ? Thanks

my current skills in math are differential eq and linear algebra... and I am about to start reading Feynman lectures of physics and planning to read all John Baez's recommended books.. after reading Feynman's, what would be the next best thing to do? learn more math? or jump already to core...

Greg Bernhardt submitted a new blog post Against "interpretation" Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

Hi all, I have a question relating to the title above. The uncertainty relation tells us that an electron that is localised (in terms of its PDF) is space has a large uncertainty in momentum space. However in classical electrostatics/dynamics we seem to make attempts to do things like...

I'm a hobbyist physicist and I just started studying QM through watching Leonard Susskind's lectures on the Stanford Youtube channel. I get the idea of it being impossible to precisely know both a subatomic particle's position and momentum, but is this actually a physical limitation? Or is it...

Homework Statement Show that ##[L_{x}^2,L_{y}^2]=[L_{y}^2,L_{z}^2]=[L_{z}^2,L_{x}^2]## Homework Equations ##L^2 = L_{x}^2+L_{y}^2+L_{z}^2## ##L_x = yp_z-zp_y## ##L_y = zp_x-xp_z## ##L_z = xp_y-yp_x## ##[x_i,p_j]=iħδ_{ij}## ##[L_x,L_y]=iħL_z## ##[L_y,L_z]=iħL_x## ##[L_z,L_x]=iħL_y##...

Hi everybody, While reading some quantum mechanics book, I met the resolvent formalism which is presented as more powerful than the pertubative approach. For a system with a hamiltonian ## H = H_0 + H_{int} ##, when the interaction part ## H_{int} ## is no more a pertubation but rather having...

If you have a particle in a 1-d box with a finite potential when ##0 < x < L ## and an infinite potential outside this region, then the normalised wavefunction used to describe said particle is ## \psi (x) = \sqrt{\frac{2}{L}}\sin(\frac{n\pi x}{L})##. However, if you had say instead a finite...

Hi! I am Bilal Rajab. I have a question regarding Quantum Physics. From where can we learn about Quantum Physics and what is its relation to Classical Physics? Why is there not one single Physics...? Thanks Regards, Bilal Rajab Abbasi

Hello,I have been going through Griffiths’ Intro To Quantum Mechanics in an attempt to self-teach myself some quantum mechanics. I am currently in section 3.4 (Generalized Statistical Interpretation) I am seeing a “step” occur more than once. When I first came across it, while I didn’t...

I was surprised recently to learn that one of the reasons both Newton and Einstein were so revolutionary was that they performed a neat mathematical trick. For Newton, it was the mathematical derivation of Kepler's laws from Newton's laws of gravitation and motion. For Einstein, it was the...

It has been mostly substantiated by virtue of experiments such as wheelers delayed choice quantum eraser experiment that we are able to retroactively impact past events of particles. However could this apply to the universe. When physicists are carrying out experiments today, which are creating...