Physics 70007 Course Information

Physics 70007 Course Information - Fall 2011
http://www.nd.edu/~bjanko/p70007/phys70007.htm

TEACHING STAFF

Name	In charge of	Phone	e-mail	Office Hours
Prof. B. Janko	Lectures & Phys. 70007 overall	1-8049	bjanko@nd.edu	After class or by appt @ 333D NSH
Mr. Dipanjan Ray	Grader	1-1754	dray2@nd.edu	walk-in, by appt @ 318 NSH

Course Description: Physics 70007, Quantum Mechanics I

Useful background for PHYS 70007: Undergraduate level Quantum Mechanics Course, Methods of Theoretical Physics.

Topics (approximate):

I. General Hilbert space formulation of quantum Mechanics
II. Schroedinger vs. Heisenberg picture,
III. Harmonic Oscillator
IV. Coulomb problem
V. Aharonov-Bohm Effect
VI. Theory of angular momentum
VII. EPR correlations and Bell's inequalities
VIII. Special Topics

NOTE: This course could be quite time intensive. Depending on your background, it could easily reach 3 hours of preparation per lecture-hour, that is, 7-8 hours a week. Please plan accordingly.

Materials: The textbooks for this course are (a) J.J. Sakurai and J. Napolitano: Modern Quantum Mechanics, and (b) G.D. Mahan: Quantum Mechanics in a Nutshell. There are many other useful books you may wish to consult. For example:

R. Shankar: Principles of Quantum Mechanincs
G. Baym: Lectures on Quantum Mechanincs
H. A. Bethe and Jackiw: Intermediate Quantum Mechanics
L.D. Landau & E.M. Lifshitz: Quantum Mechanics
J.J. Sakurai: Advanced Quantum Mechanics & Modern Quantum Mechanics
L.I. Schiff: Quantum Mechanics

The web page for this course will be updated regularly with new information and resources. Please plan to check this regularly for announcements.

Lectures: The lectures are scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 am - 12:15 pm in 217 DeBartolo. Lectures will be taught interactively, with student involvement. Professor Janko will be available after the lectures to answer quick questions.

Homework problems: One homework set approximately every 7-10 days. The solutions must be turned in on due date. There will be penalty for late homework solutions. No homework will be accepted after the solution set is handed out during class. Problems should be neatly written, in the order assigned, on 8.5 x 11 pages stapled together (no torn edges or paperclips).

You MUST explain your steps, and lead the reader through your solution with sentences, phrases, etc., as if you would be writing a scientific paper. A pile of formulae on a piece of paper is NOT an acceptable style for the homework solutions.

Occasionally short quizzes on previously covered material will be handed out at the beginning of the class. These quizzes are indended to help you focus on the key results we obtained, and provide you with bonus points. When preparing a homework please make sure you observe the rules (see below) for collaborative work compatible with the Honor Code of the University. Solutions are posted on the web page after the due date, and you are strongly encouraged to check your solutions against those posted.

Exams: There will be one midterm and one final exam for this course. The homeworks, however, will play a major role in deciding your final numerical grade. The in-class part of the exams will be closed-book, whereas the 'take-home' part (if any) will be open book: your lecture notes and one textbook (from a list of books to be specified before the exam) can accompany you during your exams. If I will find it necessary, at the end of the semester (before deciding your final letter grade) I will have an informal discussion with each of you individually (similar to an oral exam) to have a better idea of how much you learned. Honesty is expected and under the honor system the primary responsibility for regulation lies with the students (see below).

Grading scheme: Your final grade will be based on your overall performance in all the course related activities. The numerical grade is calculated at the end of the semester is calculated as a weighted average of your scores obtained during the following activities or exams:

Activity/Examination	Frequency/Date	Weight (%)
Class Participation	Lectures	5 (See below)
Homework	Weekly (approximate)	30
Midterm exam	75 min, in-class and 'take-home', October 13, 2011,	30
Final Exam	120 min, in-class and 'take-home', December 12, 2011,	35

NOTE: for those with a.) SUSTAINED class participation and b.) final numerical grade close to, but below a borderline between two letter grades, I will give the letter grade above the borderline.
The exam dates and times are fixed and will not be changed. Please plan accordingly.
Makeups are available ONLY for students with approved university excuses. You must notify Professor Janko in writing BEFORE you miss a test, even for approved University activities. (Emergencies such as sudden illness, accident, death in the family, etc. must be documented by the University Health Center, or Counseling Center).
All exams are cumulative: you are expected to know ALL previously covered material.

The letter grade scale will be based on the performance of the class as a whole. Please refer to the following table to get some idea of the correspondence between the letter grade and the expected level of performance in Physics 70007.

Letter Grade	Performance
A	Has a firm understanding of all concepts covered in class, Has a global understanding of the interconnected nature of laws and principles learned during the entire semester, Can solve most problems, new or similar to those discussed in class and in homework.
B	Has a firm understanding of most concepts, Recognizes some relationships between laws and principles learned in different chapters, Can solve most problems that are similar to those discussed in class/homework, and some of the new problems,
C	Has a reasonable understanding of most concepts, Recognizes some relationships between laws and principles learned in the same chapters, Can solve only problems that are similar to those discussed in class/homework,
D	Has a limited understanding of some concepts, Recognizes only a few relationships between laws and principles learned in the same chapters, Can solve only the simplest problems, Attends all lectures, makes genuine efforts to complete all homework problems
F	Little or no understanding of the concepts and phenomena, Routinely misses lectures, and/or homework assignments.

Honor Code: As a precondition for your admission to the University of Notre Dame, you agreed to abide by the University's Academic Code of Honor. Specifically, you pledged not to receive or give unauthorized aid on a exam, quiz, lab report, or homework assignment. While collaboration is encouraged in class and during the discussion sessions, please make sure you observe the following rules:

You are expressly forbidden to search for, use and/or copy from the web the solutions available on-line for some of the homework problems.
During homework preparation you must spend at least 20 minutes working alone on a particular problem before you can seek assistance from a friend, study group, tutor, or teaching assistant. They should ask you guiding questions or point you towards resources that will help you discover your own solution. You cannot ask them to show you how to completely solve the problem, nor can you accept such extensive help.
Under no circumstances should you copy or even look at someone else's solution to a problem before you have submitted your own homework, quiz, or exam for credit.

Any suspected violation of the Honor Code will be turned over to the Departmental Honesty Committe for investigation. Penalties can be as severe as dismissal from the University.