Admission Requirements
Quantum Mechanics, Bachelor of Physics (Quantummechanica 1 and Quantummechanica 2)
Description
Advanced treatment of quantum theory, with an emphasis on the description and understanding of counterintuitive phenomena in quantum physics.
Fundamental concepts: position and momentum representation, states and operators (bra-ket notation), unitary transformations, Heisenberg equations of motion, Ehrenfest theorem, Hellmann-Feynman theorem, uncertainty relation
Symmetry: conservation laws, unitary and anti-unitary symmetries, parity, time-reversal, Kramers degeneracy, Galilean invariance
Fermions and bosons: creation/annihilation operators, fermionic/bosonic Fock space, field operators, coherent states, Bogoliubov and Majorana quasiparticles in a superconductor
Quantum electrodynamics: gauge transformations, Byers-Yang theorem, Aharonov-Bohm effect, persistent current, Casimir effect
Approximation methods: variational methods, semiclassics, Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization, WKB approximation, applications to resonant tunneling and Landau level quantization
Time-dependent quantum systems: adiabatic theorem, Landau-Zener transitions, Berry phase, applications to Dirac fermions in graphene
Path integrals: Lagrangian, principle of least action, quantum propagator, Feynman path integral, stationary phase approximation
Course objectives
After the course the student should be able to apply the basic concepts of quantum theory to macroscopic quantum phenomena, in particular in the context of quantum information processing and condensed matter physics. The emphasis is on a qualitative understanding of the general principles, rather than on specific computational techniques.
Timetable
For detailed information go to Timetable in Brightspace
You will find the timetables for all courses and degree programmes of Leiden University in the tool MyTimetable (login). Any teaching activities that you have sucessfully registered for in MyStudyMap will automatically be displayed in MyTimeTable. Any timetables that you add manually, will be saved and automatically displayed the next time you sign in.
MyTimetable allows you to integrate your timetable with your calendar apps such as Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and other calendar apps on your smartphone. Any timetable changes will be automatically synced with your calendar. If you wish, you can also receive an email notification of the change. You can turn notifications on in ‘Settings’ (after login).
For more information, watch the video or go the the 'help-page' in MyTimetable. Please note: Joint Degree students Leiden/Delft have to merge their two different timetables into one. This video explains how to do this.
Mode of instruction
see Brightspace
Assessment method
Written examination, with questions modeled after the exercises from the tutorials. There is a possibility to retake the exam.
Reading list
J.J. Sakurai, Modern Quantum Mechanics (third edition, 2022)
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for registering for each course component. This can be done via Mystudymap. You do this twice a year: once for the courses you want to take in semester 1 and once for the courses you want to take in semester 2.
Registration for courses in the first semester is possible from July onwards; registration for courses in the second semester is possible from December onwards. For more information, see this page
Please note that it is mandatory for all students to register for their exams. This can be done up to and including 10 calendar days prior to the exam or up to five calendar days in case of a retake exam (retake registration opens 30 days before the retake takes place). You cannot participate in the exam or retake without a valid registration in My Studymap
Contact
Lecturer: Prof.dr. C.W.J. Beenakker
Remarks
For additional course information, see https://ilorentz.org/QT/