As we saw in the previous chapter, classical physics is unable to offer a satisfactory explanation of the structure of even the simplest atom, that of hydrogen. This was first achieved by quantum theory. We shall therefore go into the theory in more depth, beginning where Chap. 7 left off. We shall be particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with bound states, of which the simpest example is
Berkeley Physics Course, Vol.4 - Quantum Physics
Eyvind Hugo Wichmann was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 30, 1928, and grew up in Helsinki, Finland. He attended the Finnish Institute of Technology and graduated with a diploma in physics in 1950. Wichmann moved to the United States after receiving a fellowship to study at Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. in physics from Columbia University in 1956. Wichmann then spent a year as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He joined the faculty of the Department of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1957, and was promoted to full professor in 1967. Wichmann retired as a professor emeritus in 1993.
Wichmann's early career in theoretical physics began with his 1956 doctoral thesis at Columbia University, written under the supervision of Norman Kroll. During Wichmann's graduate studies, he developed a mastery of quantum electrodynamics, a relatively new field of theoretical physics that combines relativity, quantum mechanics, and electrodynamics. The goal of the theory is to describe the interaction of light and matter. Wichmann's thesis deals with vacuum polarization in a very strong Coulomb field. Vacuum polarization is the phenomenon in which an electron-positron pair is created from the vacuum by an external electric field. It has the effect of altering the Coulomb potential of a point charge. In the thesis, Wichmann developed certain nonperturbative techniques and applied them to this difficult problem in order to accurately compute these modifications.
Wichmann's research focused on technically demanding and physically important calculations such as dispersion relations, scattering theory, and S matrix theory in quantum electrodynamics through the end of the fifties. After he arrived at UC Berkeley in 1957, Wichmann became more active in research in mathematical quantum mechanics. This was then a new field that sought to use mathematics to clarify some of the underlying difficulties in theoretical physics, and quantum electrodynamics in particular. Much of Wichmann's research was done in collaboration with his graduate students, some of whom are mentioned in this memorial.
On the basis of his research in theoretical physics, Wichmann was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. From 1961 to 1963, Wichmann was a Sloan Research Fellow.
Based on his undergraduate quantum physics course, Wichmann authored the widely-used textbook Quantum Physics, volume 4 of the Berkeley Physics Course, in 1971. This demanding text is structured to reinforce basic physical principles and computational proficiency.
This is a Prof. Masatsugu Suzuki's personal web page, where his lecture notes are posted. Prof. Suzuki's official page:
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Statistical Thermodynamics Lecture Notes of Computational Physics (Mathematica) The Computational Physics 468 was taught at the State University of New York at Binghamton during the Spring Semester, 2010. Both undergraduate students and graduate students attended this class and learn how to solve various kinds of problems of physics and mathematics by using a Mathematica 7.0, and understand the essence of physics including classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, solid state physics, special relativity, statistical mechanics, and so on.
In the above lecture notes, we do not use any sophisticated techniques to make programs. So many students and researchers who are not so familiar with the use of Mathematica, can easily understand the essence of physics; how to solve the physics problems (by visualizing). I think that there are mistakes and typo in this lecture note. They will be revised in near future.
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