QUANTUM MECHANICS AND PATH INTEGRALS

Major
Physics
Quarter
Spring
Year
2020
Course Number
PHYS CS 140, Section 1
Enrollment Code
40113
Instructor(s)
Date & Time
TR 11:00AM - 12:15PM
Location
Bldg 494, Room 160B

Course Description

Quantum mechanics will be developed from scratch using the path integral approach first introduced by R. P. Feynman in the course of his graduate studies at Princeton. He based his path integral concept from pioneering work by P.A.M. Dirac. The problem becomes one of applying a “least action” principle to quantum mechanics in such a way that classical mechanics can arise naturally as a special case of quantum mechanics when Planck’s constant is allowed to go to zero.

Path integrals are used in fields as diverse as Quantum Field Theory, Polymer Physics, Measurement Theory in Quantum Mechanics, and Financial Markets, to name a few.

PREREQUISITES: Physics 102, Physics 104, Physics 115A.

Second year CCS physics students interested in this class need authorization from Francesc Roig in order to enroll.

Required Text

Richard P. Feynman, Albert R. Hibbs, Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals Dover Publications