Undergraduate Course: Symmetries of Quantum Mechanics (PHYS10083)
Course Outline
| School | School of Physics and Astronomy |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | Building on the material presented in the Quantum Mechanics course, this course aims to introduce the basic mathematical tools of Quantum Mechanics with a special emphasis on the connection between physical phenomena and mathematical modelling. The Hilbert space of physical states is reviewed as a particular case of a linear vector space. General properties of representation theory are discussed for the case of finite groups and are applied to quantum mechanical systems. Representations of the continuous groups U(1), SO(3), and SU(2) are presented and discussed in relation with invariance under translations and rotations. The general theory of angular momentum is introduced and applied to cases of physical interest. Quantum mechanical results are compared to their classical counterparts for a number of physical systems. |
| Course description |
Not entered
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 6,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
48 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
100 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Written Exam 100% |
| Feedback |
- comments on assessments by graders
- one-to-one feedback in workshop |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- understand the basics of finite group thoery
- understand the representation theory of finite groups
- understand the general theory of angular momentum and its connection to the group of spatial rotations SO(3)
- apply the above concept to quantum mechanics e.g. selection rules
- apply the above concepts to the study of new (unseen) problems
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Workshop/tutorial sessions, as arranged. |
| Keywords | SymQM |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Roman Zwicky
Tel: (0131 6)50 5243
Email: Roman.Zwicky@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Stephanie Blakey
Tel: (0131 6)68 8261
Email: steph.blakey@ed.ac.uk |
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