PHYSICS 501, FALL 2013

GRADUATE QUANTUM MECHANICS I

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Welcome to Physics 501!

• Classes meet Mon-Wed at 1:40-3:00pm in ARC 108, starting on Wednesday Sept. 4.

• Homework assignments and solutions.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Instructor:

Prof. David Vanderbilt Office: Serin E291 Email: dhv@physics.rutgers.edu Phone: 445-5500 x2514 Office hours: Friday 11-12am

Textbook and Syllabus:

• Principal (required) text: Principles of Quantum Mechanics (2nd Edition), by R. Shankar.

In the fall semester, we will cover Shankar Chapters 1-7 and 9-15 (see Syllabus).

In the spring semester (Physics 502), the same book will be listed as the official text; we will cover most of the remaining chapters of Shankar, but the lectures will stray further from the text.

Lectures: Monday and Wednesday, 4nd period (1:40-3:00pm), ARC 108. Lecture should be as interactive as possible; you are definitely encouraged to ask questions, or express what is confusing you, in the lecture. Also, I strongly recommend that you read the corresponding textbook material before lecture, so that you can come prepared to ask questions about the points that you find unclear.

Note that there will be no lecture on Wed. November 27 just before Thanksgiving (it is designated for Friday classes).

Homeworks: Since people usually ``learn by doing,'' the homeworks are an extremely important part of the course experience. Homeworks will be assigned at intervals of 1 or 1.5 weeks; they will be graded and returned to you.

Exams: There will be a midterm and a final. The midterm will be a take-home exam, and will be scheduled for late October. The final will be an open-book in-class two-hour exam. Precised dates and times have yet to be determined.

Web site: If you are looking at a paper copy of this document, it is actually a printout of the course home page located at http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/grad/501. Please bookmark this location. It will be used frequently for listing homework assignments and communicating other details about the course.

Communication: My "posted office hours" are as listed above, but you are free to see me at other times as well. If it's a quick question, just drop in; otherwise it might be advisable to phone or email ahead to make an appointment. Also, feel free to contact me by email about any aspect of the course.

Grades: To arrive at the final grade I will do a numerical calculation first (with weights of approximately 40% for homeworks, 25% for the midterm, and 35% for the final). This will then be adjusted, based on factors like class participation, to arrive at a final letter grade.

Students with disabilities: Please read here.