Informal Summary of Undergraduate Quantum Text Books
Here is my initial impresssion of various textbooks suitable for study in this
course. I will occasionally update the annotations throughout the semester.
Gasiorowicz, Quantum
Physics, 1970,1995,2003
A concise, rigorous, text with a nice level of mathematical formalism. It
begins with a detailed history of the old quantum theory. The formalism
is worked out over chapters 2,3, and 5, revisiting topics in greater
detail as you learn more. It is an introductory textbook with good
coverage of core topics, and others in online supplements.
Griffiths, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics,
1994,2004
A friendly and readable introduction to quantum mechanics. Similar to his
E&M book, he guides you carefully along minimalistically charted path
toward understanding quantum mechanics, discharging any unneccesary
formalism to accomplish this goal. For example, he waits till Chapter 3
to discuss the Dirac notation, and uses it rarely afterwards. While
easier to follow initally, I think this obscures the mathematical
structure of QM. Another strength is that the discussions zooms in on the
important concepts for deep physical insight.
Binney & Skinner,
The Physics
of Quantum Mechanics, 2008--2013
A theoretical physics text which jumps straight into probability theory
and Dirac state notation, and the postulates of Quantum Mechanics. It has
a deeper formal treatment transformations and symmetries, important topics
in modern research, and has some nice appendices. An early version of
this book is published online.
Fitzgerald, Quantum
Mechanics, 2010
An expanded set of lecture notes published as a book and online. It
follows a clean logical outline, with clear notation, although avoiding
Dirac notation. He also published a graduate text following a more
axiomatic approach.
Blumel, Foundations
Of Quantum Mechanics: From Photons To Quantum Computers, 2009
As the title suggests, this book had a nice introduction to quantum
mechanics in the first three chapters, and then quickly shifts gears to
quantum information. It skips much of our course, such as 1-D potentials,
angular momentum, and 3-D potentials such as the hydrogen atom. It focus
on photon and spin polarization.
Townsend,
A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics, ?,2012
This textbook, a good complement for those who have taken PHY361, dives
straight to the heart of quantum mechanics, developing the subject in the
context of spin (a QM phenomenon with no classical analog). This approach
empahsizes the linear nature of QM, and provides a direct route to its
postulates.
Sudbery,
Quantum
mechanics and the particles of nature: An outline for
mathematicians, 1986
This is an axiomatic approach to QM written to familiarize mathematicians
with both QM and particle physics. Instead of the historical development
of QM, the first chapter analyzes matter all the way from atoms to quarks
and leptons, and as well as the force-carrying particles mediating each
interaction. Chapter 5 has an extensive treatment of quantum metaphysics
and different formulations of QM.
Zettili, Quantum
Mechanics: Concepts and Applications, 2001,2009
This large text classifies its self as both a theory textbook, and a
problem workbook. It has an extensive collection of worked out
examples.
Bransden & Joachain
Quantum
Mechanics, 1989,2000
An exhaustive text at the same level.
Morrison, Understanding
Quantum Physics: A Users' Manual, 1990
This book reads like a story, and will immerse you in the language and
culture of QM, with lots of physical explanations.
Adams, MIT
8.04 Lectures, 2013
For those of you who prefer video to reading a book. Video is harder to
jump around than reading a textbook, but much more expressive. I hope to
make a correspondence table with these lectures vs. our class topics;
until then you will have to watch them sequentially from the
beginning.
Texts at the graduate level:
Shankar, Principles of Quantum Mechanics, 1980 ,1994
The text used in PHY 614.