MIT Subject Listing & Schedule
Fall 2024 Search Results

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7 subjects found.

6.6400 Applied Quantum and Statistical Physics

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Prereq: 18.06
Units: 4-0-8
Lecture: WF11-12.30 (4-153) Recitation: M11 (4-159) +final

Elementary quantum mechanics and statistical physics. Introduces applied quantum physics. Emphasizes experimental basis for quantum mechanics. Applies Schrodinger's equation to the free particle, tunneling, the harmonic oscillator, and hydrogen atom. Variational methods. Elementary statistical physics; Fermi-Dirac, Bose-Einstein, and Boltzmann distribution functions. Simple models for metals, semiconductors, and devices such as electron microscopes, scanning tunneling microscope, thermonic emitters, atomic force microscope, and more. Some familiarity with continuous time Fourier transforms recommended.
P. Hagelstein
Textbooks (Fall 2024)

8.04 Quantum Physics I

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Prereq: 8.03 and (18.03 or 18.032)
Units: 5-0-7
Credit cannot also be received for 8.041

Experimental basis of quantum physics: photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, photons, Franck-Hertz experiment, the Bohr atom, electron diffraction, deBroglie waves, and wave-particle duality of matter and light. Introduction to wave mechanics: Schroedinger's equation, wave functions, wave packets, probability amplitudes, stationary states, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, and zero-point energies. Solutions to Schroedinger's equation in one dimension: transmission and reflection at a barrier, barrier penetration, potential wells, the simple harmonic oscillator. Schroedinger's equation in three dimensions: central potentials and introduction to hydrogenic systems.
Staff

8.041 Quantum Physics I

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Prereq: 8.03 and (18.03 or 18.032)
Units: 2-0-10
Credit cannot also be received for 8.04
Recitation: TR11 (4-231) +final

Blended version of 8.04 using a combination of online and in-person instruction. Covers the experimental basis of quantum physics: Mach-Zender interferometers, the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, and de Broglie waves. Heisenberg uncertainty principle and momentum space. Introduction to wave mechanics: Schroedinger's equation, probability amplitudes, and wave packets. Stationary states and the spectrum of one-dimensional potentials, including the variational principle, the Hellmann-Feynman lemma, the virial theorem, and the harmonic oscillator. Basics of angular momentum, central potentials, and the hydrogen atom. Introduction to the Stern-Gerlach experiment, spin one-half, spin operators, and spin states.
B. Zwiebach
Textbooks (Fall 2024)

8.05 Quantum Physics II

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Prereq: 8.04 or 8.041
Units: 5-0-7
Credit cannot also be received for 8.051
Lecture: MW12.30-2 (6-120) Recitation: TR10 (26-142) or TR11 (26-142) or TR1 (26-314) or TR2 (26-314) +final

Vector spaces, linear operators, and matrix representations.  Inner products and adjoint operators. Commutator identities. Dirac's Bra-kets. Uncertainty principle and energy-time version. Spectral theorem and complete set of commuting observables. Schrodinger and Heisenberg pictures.  Axioms of quantum mechanics. Coherent states and nuclear magnetic resonance. Multiparticle states and tensor products. Quantum teleportation, EPR and Bell inequalities. Angular momentum and central potentials. Addition of angular momentum. Density matrices, pure and mixed states, decoherence.
S. Choi
No textbook information available

8.051 Quantum Physics II

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Prereq: 8.04 and permission of instructor
Units: 2-0-10
Credit cannot also be received for 8.05

Blended version of 8.05 using a combination of online and in-person instruction. Together with 8.06 covers quantum physics with applications drawn from modern physics. General formalism of quantum mechanics: states, operators, Dirac notation, representations, measurement theory. Harmonic oscillator: operator algebra, states. Quantum mechanics in three dimensions: central potentials and the radial equation, bound and scattering states, qualitative analysis of wave functions. Angular momentum: operators, commutator algebra, eigenvalues and eigenstates, spherical harmonics. Spin: Stern-Gerlach devices and measurements, nuclear magnetic resonance, spin and statistics. Addition of angular momentum: Clebsch-Gordan series and coefficients, spin systems, and allotropic forms of hydrogen. Limited to 20.
Staff

8.06 Quantum Physics III

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Prereq: 8.05
Units: 5-0-7

Continuation of 8.05. Units: natural units, scales of microscopic phenomena, applications. Time-independent approximation methods: degenerate and nondegenerate perturbation theory, variational method, Born-Oppenheimer approximation, applications to atomic and molecular systems. The structure of one- and two-electron atoms: overview, spin-orbit and relativistic corrections, fine structure, variational approximation, screening, Zeeman and Stark effects. Charged particles in a magnetic field: Landau levels and integer quantum hall effect. Scattering: general principles, partial waves, review of one-dimension, low-energy approximations, resonance, Born approximation. Time-dependent perturbation theory. Students research and write a paper on a topic related to the content of 8.05 and 8.06.
Staff

8.276 Nuclear and Particle Physics

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Not offered regularly; consult department
Prereq: 8.033 and 8.04
Units: 4-0-8

Presents a modern view of the fundamental structure of matter. Starting from the Standard Model, which views leptons and quarks as basic building blocks of matter, establishes the properties and interactions of these particles. Explores applications of this phenomenology to both particle and nuclear physics. Emphasizes current topics in nuclear and particle physics research at MIT. Intended for students with a basic knowledge of relativity and quantum physics concepts.
Staff