Using an innovative approach that students find both accessible and exciting,
A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics, Second Edition lays
out the foundations of quantum mechanics through the physics of intrinsic
spin. Written to serve as the primary textbook for an upper-division
course in quantum mechanics, Townsend's text gives professors and students a
refreshing alternative to the old style of teaching, by allowing the basic
physics of spin systems to drive the introduction of concepts such as Dirac
notation, operators, eigenstates and eigenvalues, time evolution in quantum
mechanics, and entanglement.. Chapters 6 through 10 cover
the more traditional subjects in wave mechanics-the Schroedinger equation in
position space, the harmonic oscillator, orbital angular momentum, and central
potentials-but they are motivated by the foundations developed in the
earlier chapters. Students using this text will perceive wave mechanics as an
important aspect of quantum mechanics, but not necessarily the core of the
subject. Subsequent chapters are devoted to perturbation theory,
identical particles, scattering, and the interaction of atoms with radiation,
and an optional chapter on path integrals is also included. This new
edition has been revised throughout to include many more worked
examples and end-of-chapter problems, further enabling students to gain a
complete mastery of quantum mechanics. It also includes new sections on
quantum teleportation, the density operator, coherent states, and cavity
quantum electrodynamics.