Intermediate Quantum Mechanics
Objective reality is an emergent phenomenon. -Scott Thomas

Physics 417
Fall 2011 Semester

Instructor: Prof. Amitabh Lath
email: lath -at- physics.rutgers.edu


Grader Roshan Tourani
email: roshan -at- physics.rutgers.edu


Introduction
This is the course website for Physics 417, Intermediate Quantum Mechanics, for the Fall 2011 Semester.
There are prerequisites for this course:
  • An introductory Quantum Mechanics Course (such as Physics 316).
  • Familiarity with differential equations, complex numbers, vector algebra.
  • Some familiarity with classical mechanics and electrodynamics concepts.

    Lecture: MW, 1:40 - 3pm in SEC-218
    Office Hours: I will keep all of Friday open for students of 417, since I expect there will be questions that require more than the cannonical hour to address. I will let the class know if there are certain days I cannot be in my office. However, since unavoidable emergencies do crop up, if you are planning to come by, drop me an email. Of course, if Fridays are inconvenient, please let me know. We can arrange another meeting time.

    Textbook
    We will be using the text by Griffiths: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 2nd edition.
    It is at the Rutgers Bookstore, and also at the publisher's (Pearson) website, as well as amazon, walmart, etc.

    Syllabus
    There is a syllabus for this class. There will be weekly homework, occasional quizzes, a midterm exam and a final exam. Please let me know as soon as possible if you cannot make either the midterm or final exam.
    There will be no makeup quizzes. However, if you have an ironclad excuse, (ie, signed affadavits from relevant figures of higher authority) I will remove the missed quiz from the denominator when computing your final grade.

    Grading
    Here is how the grading breaks down:
  • Homeworks: 10%
  • Quizzes: 20%
  • Midterm Exam: 30%
  • Final Exam: 40%
    Homeworks
    Here is the Homework list .
    Solutions will be posted after the due date in the solutions directory .
    The homeworks will generally be problems from the textbook. Note that the textbook has a * (star) system denoting the difficulty of the problem. Single star problems are "essential problems that every reader should study". Two and three star problems are called "difficult" and "unusually challenging", respectively. There are also zero-star problem that the author calls "fast food: OK if you are hungry, but not very nourishing". Generally, you should look over all the 0 and 1-star problems relevant to the sections being covered. This will ensure you can handle the quizzes.
    Quizzes and Exams
    Quizzes will be simple 10 min problems at the end of class. We will go over the solution in lecture on the board. In general I will not post solutions for the quizzes on the web.
    The Midterm exam will be in class, for the full lecture period. I will have a review session before the midterm. I will post a previous year's exam for practice when the time comes.

    Online Gradebook
    There is an online gradebook for this course. Please check this for exam grades, etc.

    Students with Disabilities

    Please consult me as early as possible if you have a disability that might interfere with an optimal learning experience.
    Also, please consult the website on disabilities . The University has coordinators for students with disabilities.