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Additional resources

This page is the space for additional resources which may prove to be of some use and/or interest for curious individuals.

Websites

  • Modern Physics: Quantum Mechanics by Leonard Susskind from Stanford is a popular youtube series covering much of the content of this course. The series was recorded in 2008 and thus the audio and video quality is left wanting, but the content is very well presented.

Texts

  • Undergraduate texts for quantum mechanics are common; however, concise, informed, relevant, and entertaining texts are much less common. I think the prescribed text is the best text for this course, but an excellent alternative which follows a similar approach to the material is A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics, Second Edition by John S. Townsend from Harvey Mudd College. If you are looking for a more traditional presentation of introductory quantum mechanics, a classic of the genre is Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by David J. Griffiths and Darrell F. Schroeter from Reed College.
  • Quantum Mechanics and Quantum and Atom Optics by Daniel A. Steck from the University of Oregon: marvellous books that have been diligently curated and provide excellent reading, although are more advanced for the most part. The Quantum Mechanics text is highly pertinent to this course, and the Quantum and Atom Optics text, whilst more pertinent for both the atomic physics and solid-state physics courses to follow, contains relevant content and includes some of the most interesting material one is likely to encounter in the realm of quantum mechanics1; however, it is pitched at the graduate level and assumed knowledge of material not taught in the UTAS undergraduate program. I still think it worthwhile as an additional resource, but don't fret if it becomes a bit hard to follow once it gets into the weeds.
  • Harry Potter and the methods of rationality by Eliezer Eudkowsky. Who know that Harry Potter fan fiction could provide such insight. As a jumping off point: Petunia married a biochemist, and Harry grew up reading science and science fiction. Then came the Hogwarts letter, and a world of intriguing new possibilities to exploit.

Previous course notes

Quantum mechanics at UTAS is taught every year, with the previous course outing having been taught by Stas Shabala and Andrew Cole for advanced wave mechanics and quantum mechanics respectively. The notes from the 2022 course are posted here as a reference, but it should be emphasised that the course structure is vastly different, and consequently one's mileage may vary.

Advanced wave mechanics

Quantum mechanics

  1. and I am not just saying this because my research has been in this area, it is objectively true! ↩

Last update: February 24, 2023