Physics 313: Quantum Mechanics I
Fall 2023
Lectures: MWF, 10.00-10:50 p.m. in Wren 301
Instructor: Irina Novikova
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Office: Small 251 |
E-mail: ixnovi[at]wm.edu |
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Office hours: Tuesdays 3-4pm, Wednesdays 1-2.30pm or by appointment |
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Web-site: http://www.physics.wm.edu/~inovikova/phys313/phys313.htm |
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Grader: Michael Sizemore |
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Office hours (grading questions only): by appointment |
E-mail: see Blackboard |
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Course overview: This course is an introduction to non-relativistic quantum mechanics. We will explore the basic formalism of the subject and consider selected examples and applications from various brunches of physics and quantum information science. This course is the first semester of a two-semester treatment of the topic. Over the course of the first semester, we will work through the first 10 chapters of the textbook, including:
· Quantum states and measurements (Chapters 1, 2)
· Operators and quantum state dynamics (Chapters 3, 4)
· Two-particle system and quantum entanglement (Chapter 5)
· Quantum mechanics in one dimension (Chapters 6, 7)
· Quantum Mechanics in three dimensions (Chapters 9,10)
See Course Schedule for a detailed schedule of the covered material and problem set assignments. Reading the appropriate sections of the textbook before the lectures over that material is strongly recommended.
Pre-requisites: Modern Physics (PHYS 201) and Classical Mechanics (PHYS 208) are prerequisites for this course. We will make extensive use of calculus (so you should have taken MATH 111,112 and 213 (or 212)), as well as some aspects of Linear Algebra and Ordinary Differential Equations. The needed topics from the more advanced math courses will be introduced and reviewed as needed; however, students who have taken, or are enrolled in MATH 211, MATH 302 or PHYS 301, will find these courses relevant.
Required textbook: A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics, by John S. Townsend (2nd ed.) The same textbook will be used in PHYS314.
While the class lectures will follow the Townsend textbook, there are many other textbooks and on-line resources covering the same material; feel free to explore and utilize them to help you learn, if necessary.
Homework: Homework assignments will be posted a week prior to the due date on the course website. For full credit, assignments must be turned in electronically via Gradescope by 11.59pm on the due date, which almost always be on Wednesdays. Late assignments will be accepted until the following Friday, but the grade will be reduced by 50%, unless you have informed me beforehand, and we made some prior arrangements. After that, the late assignments will be accepted only with my prior permission. Please make sure that the submitted solutions are readable and understandable; the grader will not assign a grade if the writing is illegible. Also, if an assignment is not posted on time, or you suspect it has typos – please contact me immediately, so I can fix it.
You will get the most out of the course if you make a serious effort to do the assignments completely on your own. While you may discuss the homework problems with other students, the final write-up must be your own work. I am well aware that it is possible (and actually not even hard) to find solutions for almost any assigned problem online. I strongly suggest you use this only as a last resort, or to check your solution. Remember, the main goal of the homework is to train you to solve problems, and you cannot achieve that without practice.
Office hours: I will have a regularly scheduled office hours on Mondays and Tuesdays. However, I do have an open door policy: if my door is open, feel free to stop by (although I cannot guarantee that I will have always have time to help you). If the office hours do not work with your schedule, email me to schedule a meeting (in person or via Zoom).
Discussion board: To enable an on-line discussion regarding homework assignments or lecture materials, we will use Piazza: piazza.com/wm/fall2023/phys313/home
I hope it will be a good platform to discuss methods or confusions, argue about ways of attacking problems, help each other get over sticking points, etc., in addition or instead of the in-person study group. I will try to monitor it, but I hope it will be mostly peer-to-peer tool.
Electronic Access: This syllabus, the course schedule, lecture notes, supplemental materials, and homework assignments and solutions will be posted on the course website. I will use blackboard only to post confidential information, such as grades.
If you need to get in touch, e-mail is my preferred method of communication. I am usually fairly good about answering quickly, but please write your e-mails under assumption that it may take a day or two for me to reply. Also I would like to strongly discourage any physics questions over the e-mail: it is much more efficient to discuss those in person or via Zoom.
Grades: In addition to the homework, there will be two in-class tests, and an in class final exam. If you know you will miss a test due to a university-sanctioned event, please notify me by email at least a week prior to the test time, so that an alternative arrangements can be made. If you are ill on the day of the test, please contact me as soon as possible to schedule a makeup.
Course grade will be based on the following distribution:
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Homework |
25% |
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Midterm tests |
20% each |
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Final exam |
35% |
Letter grades will be assigned according to the following approximate grading scale:
A: 90-100% B: 80-89% C: 70-79% D: 60-69% F: below 60%
Letter grade ranges will be further subdivided into + and - grades. Note, that this scale may be adjusted down depending on the overall class performance.
Important Dates:
Last day of Add/Drop: Monday September 11
Last day to Withdraw: Monday October 30
Final Exam: Wednesday, December 13, 2-5pm
In-class Tests: Wednesday, October 11 and Wednesday, November 8
Accessibility: William & Mary accommodates students with disabilities in accordance with federal laws and university policy. Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a learning, psychiatric, physical, or chronic health diagnosis should contact Student Accessibility Services staff at 757-221-2509 or at sas@wm.edu to determine if accommodations are warranted and to obtain an official letter of accommodation. For more information, please see www.wm.edu/sas.
Mental health support resources: William & Mary recognizes that students juggle different responsibilities and can face challenges that make learning difficult. There are many resources available at W&M to help students navigate emotional/psychological, physical/medical, material/accessibility concerns, including:
The W&M Counseling Center at (757) 221-3620. Services are free and confidential.
The W&M Health Center at (757) 221-4386.
For additional support or resources & questions, contact the Dean of Students at 757-221-2510.
For a list of other resources available to students, see:
https://www.wm.edu/offices/wellness/resources/index.php