Updates:

• 3/20   Scores on final: Qu 1: 11.4/30; Qu 2: 27.9/35; Qu 3: 20.1/25; Qu 4: 17.4/30; Qu 5: 19.3/30. Overall 96.1/150, st.dev.=23. Papers are in mailboxes or in my office (though I will be away next week).
  Have a good break!
• 3/19   Here are the equations sheet and solution for the final.
  CORRECTIONS: In the solution to problem 3, the cosines should be sines, and in problem 5, Greek "eta" should be multiplied by "hbar" in the final expression.
• 3/17   Link to 519 web page for next quarter.
• 2/18   (Slightly) UPDATED Midterm scores: Qu 1: 13.2/20; Qu 2: 12.4/30; Qu 3: 3.8/10; Qu 4: 10.1/20. Overall 40/80, st.dev.=12.

Index

Office hours and contact information

• Prof. Steve Sharpe   sharpe@phys.washington.edu   B406 PAB  685-2395
• Office hours: Monday (1:15-2), Tuesday (1:30-2:30)
• TA: Can Kozcaz   kozcaz@u.washington.edu   B427 PAB  543-3904
  • Office hours: Tuesday (4-5)

Texts

• We use the same required text as in the first quarter of the course, Physics 517. This is:
  "Modern Quantum Mechanics," by J.J. Sakurai (Addison Wesley)
• Other useful reference texts are listed here .

Course Structure and Syllabus

• The 80 minute sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays will be used for lectures---sometimes included (ungraded) pretests to give me an idea of your background knowledge. The 50 minute sessions on Fridays will be a mix---to be determined, in part, by student input---of homework Q&A sessions, discussion of past HWs, review for midterm and final and extra lectures.

  An approximate syllabus is Chs. 3-6 of Sakurai. In a little more detail this is

  • Rotations, and the groups SO(3) and SU(2).
  • Angular momentum commutation relations; eigenvalues/vectors of ang. mom.
  • Addition of angular momenta plus reprise of Bell's inequality
  • Tensor operators and the Wigner-Eckart theorem.
  • Symmetry in Quantum Mechanics---continuous and discrete.
  • Time-independent perturbation theory and applications to hydrogen-like atoms
  • Time-dependent perturbation theory and applications
  • Identical particles

  I will keep a log of what has been covered on the daily coverage page, which will also indicate any material not covered in lecture that you should read about. This link also archives any handouts and solutions to the midterm and final.

• Holidays.
  • There will be no classes on Martin Luther King day (Monday, January 21st) or on President's day (Monday, February 18th).
• Homework.
  • There will be weekly homework sets, usually due on Wednesdays in class, probably eight sets in all.
  • You are encouraged to discuss the assignments with classmates, but the solutions you turn in must be your own work.
  • Working on assignments in a timely fashion is an important part of the learning process. Late work will be accepted at the class meeting subsequent to the due date, but with a 50% penalty. After that, assignments will not be accepted, unless as prearranged due to exceptional circumstances.
  • Solutions will be posted on the HW link.
• Exams. There will be two exams in this class:
  • The midterm will be on Wednesday, February 13th, in class. It will thus be 80 minutes long.
  • The final exam will be on Wednesday, March 19th, 8:30-10:20am in A114 (our regular lecture hall).
  Exams will be closed book, and I expect to use the Friday session prior to each to have a review session. More details will be posted closer to the dates.

Course Grade

• Your course grade will be determined by scores on homework (25-40%), midterm (20-30%) and final (30-45%). I will maximize each student's score while varying the relative percentages in the stated ranges (with the constraint that they add up to 100%!).

Useful links

• Watch this space!