PHYS3022 Applied Quantum Mechanics (2018-2019 Term 2)
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PHYS3022 Applied Quantum Mechanics (2018-2019 Term 2)
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Class Notes [Front Matter]
  • Course Policies, Assessment Scheme, Necessary condition for a passing grade, Exercise Classes and Assignments, TA contacts
  • PHYS3022 - Course Time Table - Lectures Hours - Exercise Classes - TA consultation hours and contacts
  • PHYS3022 - Book List (Quantum Physics and Quantum Mechanics Books, Books on Atoms, Molecules, Nuclei, and Math Skills)
  • PHYS3022 - Course Learning Outcomes
  • Chapter 0 - Overview, coverage of course, and assumed knowledge


  • Class Notes [Self-Revision on Essential QM covered in PHYS3021]
  • Self-Revision Part 1 - The Schrodinger Equations TDSE and TISE and Types of Related Problems
  • Self-Revision Part 2 - Summary of Results of Standard QM TISE Problems
  • Self-Revision Part 3 - Spin of Electron


  • Class Notes [Methods (mostly approximations) in QM]
  • AM Part 1 - Motivations - Many QM Problems cannot be solved analytically and ask for approximations
  • AM Part 2 - An Exact Approach - Turning TISE into a huge matrix problem
  • AM Part 3 - Variational Method [Revised] (What it says, the theorem, varying trial wavefunctions, examples, trial wavefunction in linear combination form)
  • AM Part 4 - Time-independent Non-degenerate Perturbation Theory - Formalism and physical sense of results
  • AM Part 5 - An example of perturbation calculations and suggested exercises
  • AM Part 6 - Perturbation Results Made Simple by Matrix Point of View, Degenerate Perturbation Theory is a by-product - Summary


  • Class Notes [Physics of Atoms]
  • AP I Part 1 - What data said - Normal Zeeman Effect - Anomalous Zeeman Effect and Fine Structure ask for more physics
  • AP I Part 2 - Angular Momentum in QM - Orbital AM - Spin AM - Adding two momenta
  • AP I Part 3 - Spin-Orbit Interaction - First Order Calculation - Relativistic Correction - Term Symbols - What Data say - Lamb Shift
  • AP I Part 4 - Zeeman Effect Revisited - Hamiltonian with Hso and Zeeman - Strong field and Weak field cases - Anomalous Zeeman effect explained
  • AP I Part 5 - Hyperfine Structure - 21 cm line of hydrogen in astronomy - 500m aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST)
  • AP II Part 1 - Big Picture 1 - Multi-electron Atoms are Difficult Many-body problems - Find a way out
  • Lead Sheet - Hydrogen atom and Hydrogenic systems
  • AP II Part 2 - Helium Atom - Perturbation - Variational Method - Effective PE term in single-electron approximation
  • AP II Part 3 - Big Picture 2 - Independent Particle Approximation and Energies of single-electron states
  • AP II Appendix A - The Atomic Units make equations and results look simpler
  • AP II Appendix B - Single-electron Atomic Orbitals are results of Self-Consistent Field Calculations
  • AP II Part 4 - Antisymmetric Many-Electron Wavefunction and Pauli Exclusion Principle
  • AP II Part 5 - Helium 1st Excited State - Exchange Coulomb Integral and the Origin of Ferromagnetism
  • AP II Part 6 - The Periodic Table
  • AP II Part 7 - Quantum Entanglement


  • Class Notes [Atomic transitions, Light-Matter Interaction and Approximation (cont
  • LMI-I Part 1 Phenomena of Light-Matter interaction - QM is OK - Hand waving theory gives key result
  • LMI-I Part 2 Electric-dipole mechanism, Time dependent Perturbation term, and Time-dependent Perturbation Theory (set up)
  • LMI-I Part 3 Stimulated absorption and emission - Energy must match and Selection Rules - all emerged from theory
  • LMI-II Part 1 Transition rates for stimulated absorption and stimulated emission
  • LMI-II Part 2 Einstein (1917) A and B coefficients and Relation between A and B
  • LMI-II Part 3 Spontaneous emission transition rate from QM and Life time of an excited state
  • LMI-II Part 4 Natural Broadening - Lorzentian line-shape function - FWHM and life time - Energy-time uncertainty relation
  • LMI-II Part 5 Lasers - A brief description


  • Class Notes [Physics of Molecules]
  • MPI Part 1 - Why things bind - Typical scales - Energetics of Ionic bonds
  • MPI Part 2 - The Complexity of the Quantum Mechanical Problem of a Molecule - An appreciation
  • MPI Part 3 - The Beauty of the Born-Oppenheimer Approximation and Big Picture of Molecular States
  • MPI Part 4 - Solving electronic part to obtain Molecular Orbitals (MO) by Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals - LCAO - MO
  • MPI Appendix A (Revised) - Quantum Nature of Bonding - LCAO-MO in H2+ as example
  • MPI Part 5 - Filling MOs via Pauli Exclusion Principle - Bond Order - single, double, triple bonds, sigma and pi bonds
  • MPII Extension on Bonding - Hybridization - BeH2 - C2H4 - Graphene - CH4 - Diamond - Silicon and Delocalized electrons in Benzene
  • MPII Appendix (Optional) - Conceptual discussion on how sp hybridization emerges naturally from LCAO calculation - BeH2 case
  • MPIII Vibrational and Rotational Energies - Rotational Spectrum - Vibrational and Rotational Spectrum - Extract Bond Information from Spectrum - Greenhouse Gases


  • Class Notes [Miscellaneous Topics]
  • Tunneling Part 0 - Why Tunneling - Phenomena related to alpha particle decay
  • Tunneling Part 1 - Traveling Waves in QM - Difficulties in normalization - Ways out
  • Tunneling Part 2 Revised - Continuity Equation in QM and Probability Current Density
  • Tunneling Part 3 - Formalism-Transmission and Reflection Coefficients-Key Features in results
  • Physics of Nuclei - A crash module (understanding properties of nuclei using QM knowledge discussed)
  • Tunneling Part 4 - Alpha-decay as an Application of Tunneling
  • Tunneling Part 5 - More Applications (Fusion in Sun and ITER on Earth, STM, Field Emission, Resonant Tunneling, Quantum Cascade Laser)


  • Class Notes [Back Matter]
  • What have we done in Applied Quantum Mechanics?
  • Further Reading on all topics
  • List of constants and useful numbers


  • Sample Questions for Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ1,2,3 for Week 1 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ4.5 for Week 2 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ6,7 for Week 3 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ8,9,10 for Week 4 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ11,12,13 for Week 5 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ14,15 for Week 6 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ16,17 for Week 7 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ18,19 for Week 8 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ20,21 for Week 9 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ22,23 for Week 10 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ24,25,26 for Week 11 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ27,28 for Week 12 Exercise Classes
  • Sample Questions SQ29,30,31 for Week 13 Exercise Classes


  • PHYS3021 2018-2019 Quantum Mechanics I notes


    Problem Sets
  • Problem Set 1 (due 23 Jan 2019)
  • Problem Set 2 (due 30 Jan 2019)
  • Problem Set 3 (due 20 Feb 2019)
  • Problem Set 4 (due 1 March 2019)
  • Problem Set 5 - With revision marked (due 22 March 2019)
  • Problem Set 5 revised soft copy (due 22 March 2019)
  • Problem Set 6 (due 2 April 2019)
  • Problem Set 7 (with Revised Problem 7.3) (due 18 April 2019)


  • Erratum (Corrected typos on pages of class notes)