PHY 256 H1: Introduction to Quantum Physics

Quantum Mechanics is Fascinating!
I hope you will puzzle over it and take advantage of your instructors and fellow students to discuss it. We will use Piazza (and/or Quercus's native discussions feature) to ask questions and share ideas. I urge you to make use of these chats, in addition to every opportunity to discuss in person.
Please sign up on Piazza at piazza.com/utoronto.ca/fall2022/phy256h1 right away;
and monitor https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/~aephraim/256/PHY256-ListOfMaterials.html for Reading and Video assignments (there are already 2 videos available, for "reviews" of complex numbers, Euler's formula, and basic manipulations of matrices, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors).

Quantum physics is one of the major scientific and intellectual developments of the past century. Not only has it revolutionized people's understanding of the structure of matter, but it underpins a broad cross-section of modern technology, from the transistors in your computer to the lasers carrying data over the internet. More than that, however, it has led to a radical change in the underlying way we understand the world. This change is not limited to atoms, or even to the microscopic world in general. It applies whether we are discussing atoms and molecules, metals and semiconductors, electricity, magnetism, light, or the universe itself.
We will start with the fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics and will then develop the basic mathematical and conceptual tools to deal with important topics such as the uncertainty principle, interference, entanglement, tunneling, and the structure of the atom. You will be challenged to develop your intuition about the quantum world, with discussions based largely on two-level systems such as photon polarization, the Stern-Gerlach experiment, and two-slit interferometers. We will touch on potential applications such as quantum cryptography and quantum computers.

UNIT
"Technical" lectures
"Conceptual" complements
1
QUANTUM STATES & MEASUREMENT
Photo polarisation & electron spin Photoelectric effect
Waves + the two-slit interferometer
2
THE CONCEPTUAL HEART OF QM From probabilities + amplitudes to bras, kets, operators, & observables Superposition & uncertainty -> entanglement
Complementarity + the quantum eraser
3
WAVES OF PROBABILITY AMPLITUDE
Bohr atom Schrödinger Equations
Entanglement: the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen "paradox" and Bell's Inequalities
4
1D PROBLEMS Bound + unboud states Harmonic oscillator
Quantum computation, quantum cryptography, quantum teleportation, and all that
5
TIME-DEPENDENCE Wave packets + propagation Oscillations
Tunneling times
6
HYDROGEN and the periodic table (separation of variables -> angular momentum)
Bose-Einstein condensation?

Problem Sets
20%
Mid Term
30%
Final Exam
50%

Pre-lectures: videos will be posted, to be watched before class (https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/ ~aephraim/256/PHY256-Videos.html)
Lectures: MW 1:10-2:00 MP 103
Discussion sections :
TUT0101 = W15-16 ES B142 (Christian) TUT0102 = W15-16 PB255 (Aleksandra)
TUT0201 = W16-17 ES B142 (Christian) TUT0202 = W16-17 MP118 (Derek)
TUT0301 = F13-14 MP137 (Emily) TUT0302 = F13-14 MP118 (Derek)
TUT0401 = F15-16 MP134 (Emily) TUT0402 = F15-16 AB114 (Aleksandra)