Ebook: Quantum Physics: States, Observables and Their Time Evolution

Representations of the algebra of the harmonic oscillator and of the algebra of angular momentum are determined in chapters 1 and 2 respectively. The algebra of angular momentum is enlarged by adding the position operator so that the algebra can be used to describe rigid and non-rigid rotating molecules. The combination of quantum physical systems using direct-product spaces is discussed in chapter 3. The theory is used to describe a vibrating rotator, and the theoretical predictions are then compared with data for a vibrating and rotating diatomic molecule. The formalism of first- and second-order non-degenerate perturbation theory and first-order degenerate perturbation theory are derived in chapter 4. Time development is described in chapter 5 using either the Schroedinger equation of motion or the Heisenberg’s one. 

An elementary mathematical tutorial forms a useful appendix for the readers who don’t have prior knowledge of the general mathematical structure of quantum mechanics.