Overview

Volume II of the unrivalled textbook contains the quantum theory of scattering by a potential, addition of angular momenta, time-independent and time-dependent perturbation theory, and systems of identical particles. The new edition also includes a new complement in order to treat an important subject that was missing in the previous editions: the linear response theory, very often used in many fields of physics such as atomic physics and quantum optics, condensed matter physics, and nuclear physics. The textbook retains its typical style also in the third edition: it explains the fundamental concepts in chapters which are elaborated in accompanying complements that provide more detailed discussions, examples and applications. The quantum mechanics classic: written by 1997 Nobel laureate Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and his colleagues Bernard Diu and Franck Laloë As easily comprehensible as possible: all steps of the physical background and its mathematical representation are spelled out explicitly Comprehensive: in addition to the fundamentals themselves, the book contains more than 170 worked examples plus exercises

Full Product Details

Author:   Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (University of Paris) ,  Bernard Diu (University of Paris VII, France) ,  Franck Laloë (Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (ENS), France) ,  Nicole Ostrowsky
Publisher:   Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH
Imprint:   Blackwell Verlag GmbH
Edition:   3rd edition
ISBN:  

9783527414666

ISBN 10:   3527414665
Pages:   704
Publication Date:   06 May 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

Volume I I WAVES AND PARTICLES. INTRODUCTION TO THE BASIC IDEAS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS 1 READER’S GUIDE FOR COMPLEMENTS 33 AI Order of magnitude of the wavelengths associated with material particles 35 BI Constraints imposed by the uncertainty relations 39 CI Heisenberg relation and atomic parameters 41 DI An experiment illustrating the Heisenberg relations 45 EI A simple treatment of a two-dimensional wave packet 49 FI The relationship between one- and three-dimensional problems 53 GI One-dimensional Gaussian wave packet: spreading of the wave packet 57 HI Stationary states of a particle in one-dimensional square potentials 63 JI Behavior of a wave packet at a potential step 75 II THE MATHEMATICAL TOOLS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS 87 READER’S GUIDE FOR COMPLEMENTS 159 AII The Schwarz inequality 161 BII Review of some useful properties of linear operators 163 CII Unitary operators 173 DII A more detailed study of the r and p representations 181 EII Some general properties of two observables, Q and P, whose commutator is equal to iℏ 187 FII The parity operator 193 GII An application of the properties of the tensor product: the twodimensional in;nite well 201 HII Exercises 205 III THE POSTULATES OF QUANTUM MECHANICS 213 READER’S GUIDE FOR COMPLEMENTS 267 AIII Particle in an in;nite one-dimensional potential well 271 BIII Study of the probability current in some special cases 283 CIII Root mean square deviations of two conjugate observables 289 DIII Measurements bearing on only one part of a physical system 293 EIII The density operator 299 FIII The evolution operator 313 GIII The Schrödinger and Heisenberg pictures 317 HIII Gauge invariance 321 JIII Propagator for the Schrödinger equation 335 KIII Unstable states. Lifetime 343 LIII Exercises 347 MIII Bound states in a “potential well” of arbitrary shape 359 NIII Unbound states of a particle in the presence of a potential well or barrier 367 OIII Quantum properties of a particle in a one-dimensional periodic structure 375 IV APPLICATIONS OF THE POSTULATES TO SIMPLE CASES: SPIN 1/2 AND TWO-LEVEL SYSTEMS 393 READER’S GUIDE FOR COMPLEMENTS 423 AIV The Pauli matrices 425 BIV Diagonalization of a 2 × 2 Hermitian matrix 429 CIV Fictitious spin 1/2 associated with a two-level system 435 DIV System of two spin 1/2 particles 441 EIV Spin density matrix 449 FIV Spin 1/2 particle in a static and a rotating magnetic ;elds: magnetic resonance 455 GIV A simple model of the ammonia molecule 469 HIV E;ects of a coupling between a stable state and an unstable state 485 JIV Exercises 491 V THE ONE-DIMENSIONAL HARMONIC OSCILLATOR 497 READER’S GUIDE FOR COMPLEMENTS 525 AV Some examples of harmonic oscillators 527 BV Study of the stationary states in the x representation. Hermite polynomials 547 CV Solving the eigenvalue equation of the harmonic oscillator by the polynomial method 555 DV Study of the stationary states in the momentum representation 563 EV The isotropic three-dimensional harmonic oscillator 569 FV A charged harmonic oscillator in a uniform electric ;eld 575 GV Coherent “quasi-classical” states of the harmonic oscillator 583 HV Normal vibrational modes of two coupled harmonic oscillators 599 JV Vibrational modes of an in;nite linear chain of coupled harmonic oscillators; phonons 611 KV Vibrational modes of a continuous physical system. Photons 631 LV One-dimensional harmonic oscillator in thermodynamic equilibrium at a temperature T 647 MV Exercises 661 VI GENERAL PROPERTIES OF ANGULARMOMENTUM IN QUANTUM MECHANICS 667 READER’S GUIDE FOR COMPLEMENTS 703 AVI Spherical harmonics 705 BVI Angular momentum and rotations 717 CVI Rotation of diatomic molecules 739 DVI Angular momentum of stationary states of a two-dimensional harmonic oscillator 755 EVI A charged particle in a magnetic ;eld: Landau levels 771 FVI Exercises 795 VII PARTICLE IN A CENTRAL POTENTIAL, HYDROGEN ATOM 803 READER’S GUIDE FOR COMPLEMENTS 831 AVII Hydrogen-like systems 833 BVII A soluble example of a central potential: The isotropic three-dimensional harmonic oscillator 841 CVII Probability currents associated with the stationary states of the hydrogen atom 851 DVII The hydrogen atom placed in a uniform magnetic ;eld. Paramagnetism and diamagnetism. The Zeeman e;ect 855 EVII Some atomic orbitals. Hybrid orbitals 869 FVII Vibrational-rotational levels of diatomic molecules 885 GVII Exercises 899 Index 901

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Author Information

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji is a researcher at the Kastler-Brossel laboratory of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris where he also studied and received his PhD in 1962. In 1973 he became Professor of atomic and molecular physics at the Collège des France. His main research interests were optical pumping, quantum optics and atom-photon interactions. In 1997, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, together with Steven Chu and William D. Phillips, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms. Bernard Diu (1935-2025) was Professor at the Denis Diderot University (Paris VII). He was engaged in research at the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics and High Energy where his focus was on strong interactions physics and statistical mechanics. Franck Laloë is a researcher at the Kastler-Brossel laboratory of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. His first assignment was with the University of Paris VI before he was appointed to the CNRS, the French National Research Center. His research was focused on optical pumping, statistical mechanics of quantum gases, musical acoustics and the foundations of quantum mechanics.

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