PH451/551: General Information

PH451/551: Quantum Mechanics is a course about the applications of quantum mechanics to modern problems in physics. Every effort will be made to stress the concepts, implications and applications, but the language of quantum mechanics is mathematics, so you must have completed MTH251-6 and MTH341. You are expected to be familiar with the material covered in PH 424/524, PH425/525, and PH426/526 that relates to quantum systems. There is also some quantum mechanics content in PH427/527 that you should review. The general philosophy is to ask as many questions as possible, and be an active participant in classes; it's more fun for all of us that way! I expect you to have read the assigned material before class. I do not intend to repeat detailed derivations in the text, but you are still required to understand them. Read widely - other texts present the same material in a different way and also give other examples. Some competance with Mathematica or other computer algebra program is expected and/or Python or other programming language to help you vizualize probability distributions and explore other mathematical constructs.

You will review the postulates and basic tenets of quantum mechanics in the context of previously-studied examples and apply them to a new example of the quantum harmonic oscillator.

You will learn time-dependent and time-independent perturbation techniques to solve for the energy spectrum and wave functions of quantum systems that are not amenable to analytic techniques.

You will learn how to apply the concepts of quantum mechanics to degenerate, single particle quantum systems and to systems of identical particles.

The practical skills to be learned include mathematical techniques, problem-solving methodology, the foundation for a physicist's approach to the investigation of physical phenomena, and presentation techniques.
o Mathematical techniques include solving differential equations, matrix mechanics, vector spaces and complete sets of states.
o Problem-solving methodology includes learning to investigate the realm of validity of simple models and approximations. These techniques will be exercised both in the group activities and on the computer. Equally important are the skills of working with other scientists: oral and written communication, cooperating on complex activities, organizing a division of tasks when appropriate, gleaning knowledge from authoritative sources such as experts and books, and translating the notation and language to apply to the problem at hand.
o Written presentation of homework is important in this course. Top of page

• Class meets MWF at 12:00 - 12:50 in WGR 304.
• Final exam.
• Instructor & TA office hours are posted on the syllabus page.
• Normal OSU add/drop/withdraw dates are in effect for this course.
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• The class webpage url is http://www.physics.oregonstate.edu/~tate/COURSES/ph451 .
• A class email list is available via Blackboard.
• Instructors always communicate via your onid address. Ensure that your onid email account forwards email to your preferred address.
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• PH451: Final 45%; Midterm 30%; Homework 25%.
  PH551: Final 35%; Midterm 25%, Homework 20%; Paper 20%.
  
• Grades are posted on Blackboard.
• Homework: Assignments are posted on the class webpage. Homework is assigned on Mondays, and due in class on Wednesday of the following week. Solutions will be posted immediately after class, on the due date. Assignments turned in after solutions are posted may not be eligible for full credit. Turn in partially completed assignments by the due date and the rest later for partial credit. Pay attention to your presentation - clarity, neatness, and logical structure contribute to the overall assessment. Make your solutions a model that a beginning junior in physics could work from. Please consult the writing guide.
• Final exam: The final exam involves problems similar to those encountered in the homework assignments, and the work explored in the group and computational activities. No programming will be required.
• PH521 requirements: All PH551 assignments are expected to reflect the more extensive scientific training & sophistication of a graduate student. The homework assignments may have some different & higher-level problems. A short paper on a topic of your choosing is required. It should include a brief introduction, a calculation, and some comment on why the calculation is useful or interesting. It can be an extension of some problem assigned in the text or the resources, and should be handed in and presented as an 8-minute talk on the final day of class. A topic should be proposed in writing by February 4. The level of effort expected is approximately equivalent to 1-2 week's homework. If any member of the PH451 class is interested in this option, please talk to me.

• We strongly encourage students to work with each other, more advanced students, the TA, and the professor. However, each student is expected to turn in independent assignments that show evidence of individual thought. The final synthesis must be entirely your own. This applies also to, and especially to, computer-generated worksheets. NEVER work together so closely with someone that you produce the same solution or Mathematica worksheet. This invariably means that one person has been the dominant partner and it is impossible for the instructor to determine who it was. Such assignments will be returned ungraded, and both (or all) students requested to turn in a new assignment different from each other and different from the original.
• Homework solutions from previous years are very strictly off-limits. You are on your honor not to use them, and not to share your homework solutions with other students. Allow faculty to use their time interacting with you, rather than continually thinking up new assignments. Besides, if you don't do the work yourself, it will show up very clearly on exams. Likewise, the solutions provided by the instructors are for your personal use only. You may make one copy and keep it in your personal files.
• Sources must be appropriately documented. If you find part of a homework problem worked out somewhere (other than homework solutions from previous years), you may use that resource; just make sure you reference it properly. If someone else helps you solve a problem, the appropriate reference is
  Jane Doe, (private communication).
• Plagiarism - representing someone else's work as your own - is unethical, but collaboration and exchange of ideas is healthy. You can avoid collaborative efforts taking on the look of plagiarism by acknowledging sources and by writing up your work independently.
• Congratulations - you have just found one of two hidden assignments for the first homework of the class!, due Wed 1/9: Write a paragraph that describes your experience or perspective on these guidelines as they pertain to your experience in OSU's physics department. Submit as part of #1 on hwk 1.

• Under no circumstances may you ever copy another student's work, even if you have collaborated to work through the problem. Under no circumstances may you ever allow your own work to be copied. Violation of this rule will certainly result in a zero grade for the assignment, and may result in an F grade in the course.
• Try to make progress on a problem on your own. If you cannot, seek help from other resources to overcome a specific hurdle, then try to make further headway on your own. Once you have solved the problem, be honest with yourself about how much intellectual input came from you, and try to improve next time. Rewrite the problem solution without reference to any notes, explaining the steps as you go, as you would to a novice problem solver. Once you have done this, you will have generated a unique solution and one that will have taught you something about what you really understand. Do not be discouraged if you find that some problems require hints and help all the way through.
• A good test of your understanding is to explain a problem to someone else. Be conscious of your role in a collaboration. If it is clear that you have mastered the problem and your collaborator is a novice, limit your help to put the person on the track to solving the problem alone. Do not give too much help. Conversely, if you are seeking help from an expert, don't allow the expert to guide you all the way through. If the exchange is between people of a similar level of understanding, keep challenging one another, asking questions and providing answers, going beyond the limits of the problem. This is the fun part of physics - endless discussion about interesting problems! (There is no intention to categorize students as "weak" or "strong". Expert and novice can refer to two students of equal talent and ability - but one happens to have already solved the problem!)

• (Mc) McIntyre, Quantum Mechanics. This text was written specifically for this course; we follow it closely. Errata and additional resources are posted on the book's web page (sidebar).
• (RHB) Riley, Hobson & Bence, 2nd ed, Mathematical Methods for Physics & Engineering, (mostly reference, alternatives acceptable)
• (GQM) Griffiths, Quantum Mechanics

• The class makes use of Mathematica, a computer algebra program. The Mathematica page (sidebar) provides more information, including how to obtain a free student copy for use on your home computer.

• The net has much information! Useful sites are listed on the External Links page (sidebar). Please let me know of interesting sites relevant to the class.