QM Alternatives to Shankar for Undergraduate Level

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around alternative textbooks and resources for undergraduate quantum mechanics (QM) courses, specifically in relation to the text by Shankar. Participants express their preferences and experiences with various QM texts, seeking recommendations that cover similar material while being more accessible or detailed.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses dissatisfaction with Shankar's omission of details in derivations and formatting, seeking alternatives that cover similar topics including symmetry and relativistic QM.
  • Another participant recommends "Quantum Mechanics: A Paradigms Approach" by McIntyre as a suitable alternative.
  • A third participant suggests Sakurai as a preferred text, noting it alongside Griffiths and Shankar, while also mentioning "Primer of Quantum Mechanics" by Marvin Chester for intuition, albeit as a supplemental resource.
  • Prof. Fitzpatrick's online texts are mentioned as a free resource that could suffice for learning QM.
  • Several participants agree on the shortcomings of Shankar and support the recommendation of Sakurai as a better option.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the limitations of Shankar's text and express a preference for Sakurai. However, there are multiple suggestions for alternatives, indicating a lack of consensus on a single best resource.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that while Sakurai covers much of what Shankar does, there may still be gaps or differences in presentation style. The discussion does not resolve which text is definitively superior, as preferences vary based on individual learning styles.

Who May Find This Useful

Undergraduate students seeking alternative resources for quantum mechanics, educators looking for supplemental materials, and anyone interested in exploring different pedagogical approaches to QM.

AstroK
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I am currently taking a second course on QM (at undergraduate level). The official texts of my course are Griffiths (we are covering the second half of it) and Shankar (for everything that is not in Griffiths). But after reading Shankar for a while, I found myself not really liking the book too much. I particularly don't like the way he often omits many of the details in his derivations (well, I know sooner or later I'm going to face books even harder to read than that, i.e Jackson) and also the way the book styles / formats the equations .

So I just wonder if there are other books (or whatever online resource) that cover at least as much as Shankar (from the basics all the way up to symmetry, relativistic QM and possibly path integrals) while staying at about the same level as Shankar?Thanks.
 
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AstroK said:
I am currently taking a second course on QM (at undergraduate level). The official texts of my course are Griffiths (we are covering the second half of it) and Shankar (for everything that is not in Griffiths). But after reading Shankar for a while, I found myself not really liking the book too much. I particularly don't like the way he often omits many of the details in his derivations (well, I know sooner or later I'm going to face books even harder to read than that, i.e Jackson) and also the way the book styles / formats the equations .

So I just wonder if there are other books (or whatever online resource) that cover at least as much as Shankar (from the basics all the way up to symmetry, relativistic QM and possibly path integrals) while staying at about the same level as Shankar?Thanks.
Quantum Mechanics: A Paradigms Approach by McIntyre.
 
I like Sakurai. My two go-to recommendations are Shankar and Sakurai, but since you already have access to Shankar and it's not doing it for you...

I like Griffiths more than most, but it isn't the most precise text.

For your purposes, I'd recommend Sakurai. Another text I like for intuition is Primer of Quantum Mechanics by Marvin Chester. It's not a truly complete introduction, but I like it as a purely supplemental.
 
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I agree that Shankar leaves a lot to be desired. I second @The Bill's suggestion of Sakurai.
 
Thanks everyone.

I had checked all the resource being suggested so far, and it seems only Sakurai cover everything that Shankar got. I will definitely try out Sakurai (we use it for graduate QM, so our library has several copies of it), and meanwhile any other suggestions are also welcomed.
 
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