Physics 511	Prof. P. Berman
Quantum Mechanics I	Fall, 2003

Welcome to Quantum Mechanics I, Physics 511. The text for this course is Merzbacher, Quantum Mechanics, Third Edition. This is a solid, conventional text, even if it is not very exciting. A recommended, but not required, text is Sakuri, Modern Quantum Mechanics. There is also a course pack that you can purchase. There are numerous books available in the library on introductory quantum mechanics. I suggest you go to the shelves and find some that appeal to you. As a sample, I can recommend

· Cohen-Tannoudji, Liu and Laloe: Quantum Mechanics

· Powell and Crasemann: Quantum Mechanics

· Messiah: Quantum Mechanics

· Hecht: Quantum Mechanics

· Fong: Quantum Mechanics

· Bohm: Quantum Theory

· Saxon: Elementary Quantum Mechanics

· Park: Introduction to the Quantum Theory

· Trigg: Quantum Mechanics

· Dicke and Wittke: Quantum Mechanics

· Ashof and Melissinos: Quantum Mechanics – A Modern Introduction

· Liboff: Introductory Quantum Mechanics

· Schiff: Quantum Mechanics

This is one of the most important courses you will take at the graduate level. My goal is that you leave this course with a good understanding of the basic principles of quantum mechanics. To accomplish this goal, I will need your feedback as to the pace of the course. You are expected to devote a considerable amount of time to this course. If there is interest, I will start an optional recitation to discuss problems and course material.

Problems will be assigned and graded. The problems are an integral part of the course. Time spent on the problems will improve your understanding of the material. There will be a midterm and final exam. These exams will be scheduled for the early evening and will be “open-ended,’ in that you will not be pressed for time to complete the exams. Your grade in the course will be determined according to the following formula: midterm (1/4), final (1/2), homework (1/4).

My office hours are W 3-4, Th 2-3, or by appointment, or just stop by (4227 Randall). My phone number is 763-7762 and email is pberman@umich.edu. I will establish a users group at qmech2003@umich.edu, which can be used to exchange information related to the course. The home page for the course is http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pberman/qm03f.html. This document will be posted to the web. You might browse the web to see if you can find some good graphical solutions of Schrodinger’s equation and share your discoveries with the class.

I plan to cover Chapters 1-6 and 9-13 of Merzbacher in the Fall semester. I expect that many of you have had an advanced undergraduate course in quantum mechanics, but such a course is not a necessary prerequisite for this course. I will assume that you have seen some special functions of mathematical physics and have an elementary knowledge of complex variables. You are required to learn at least one form of symbolic mathematical manipulation program, such as Mathematica, Maple, or Matlab. You will need to use such programs in some of the homework problems.

Please feel free to stop by my office if you have any questions or concerns about the course.