Murugan V. Quantum Mechanics

Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd., Peason, 2014. — 729 p. — ISBN: 978-81-317-7362-8.One more book on quantum mechanics! There are plenty of excellent textbooks on quantum mechanics in the market. Good lecture notes are available on the internet. Then, where is the need for another book on quantum mechanics? Every author feels that there is a lacuna that is not filled by the existing books and believes that his/her book will bridge this gap. Of course, this belief is likely to remain in the realms of wishful thinking.
This book has been written by a teacher, rather than by an expert on quantum mechanics. The justification for writing this book, as also its thrust centres on this point. I taught quantum mechanics for M.Sc students at RKM Vivekananda College, Chennai, for more than two-and-a-half decades. Quantum mechanics is very abstract and mathematical. It requires lengthy articulation on the part of a teacher to clarify the subtleties of various concepts. Also, many students find it difficult to do all the mathematical manipulations themselves. During my lectures, I have often been requested by students as well as teachers to suggest a book where all the calculations can be found in detail. This book makes an attempt to provide all the calculations and explain the subtleties involved in a student-friendly way. However, learning quantum mechanics is not going to be easy even if one finds a book where all the calculations have been worked out in detail. The only way for a student to learn quantum mechanics is by working out all the details himself/herself. There is no shortcut or an alternative method other than working out the details by oneself. The student has to spend sufficient time to reflect on the nature of quantum mechanical ideas. Yet, students do require some help from the teachers or books and the degree of such help depends on the level of the student.
This book has been written with the average student in mind, who wants to understand and appreciate quantum mechanics. Therefore, it may sound too elementary and repetitive at some places. The book presents the mathematical manipulations in full detail while laying considerable emphasis on the conceptual framework of quantum theory.Evolution of Physics: Classical to Quantum
Schrödinger Equation
Simple Potentials
Mathematical Preliminaries
General Formalism
The Simple Harmonic Oscillator
Orbital Angular Momentum
Time-Independent Schrödinger Equation in Three Dimensions
Bra and Ket Vector Formalism and Symmetries
Angular Momentum and Rotation Symmetry
Many-Particle Systems and Quantum Statistics
Electron in Magnetic Fields and Other Two-State Problems
Time-Independent Schrödinger Equation – Approximations
Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory
The Scattering Theory
Relativistic Wave Equation