Lectures On Quantum Theory: Mathematical And Structural Foundations

This book is based on material taught to final-year physics undergraduates as part of the theoretical physics option at Imperial College. After a self-contained introduction to the essential ideas of vector spaces and linear operators, a bridge is built between the concepts and mathematics of classical physics, and the new mathematical framework employed in quantum mechanics. The axioms of nonrelativistic quantum theory are introduced, and shown to lead to a variety of new conceptual problems. Subjects discussed include state-vector reduction, the problem of measurement, quantum entanglement, the Kochen-Specker theorem, and the Bell inequalities. The book includes twenty-five problems with worked solutions.

Lectures on Quantum Theory: Mathematical and Structural Foundations

Science & Math

Isham, Chris J.

Mathematics

IMPERIAL COLLEGE PRESS

MODERN DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRY FOR PHYSICISTS (2ND EDITION) (World Scientific Lecture Notes in Physics)

This edition of the invaluable text Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists contains an additional chapter that introduces some of the basic ideas of general topology needed in differential geometry. A number of small corrections and additions have also been made.These lecture notes are the content of an introductory course on modern, coordinate-free differential geometry which is taken by first-year theoretical physics PhD students, or by students attending the one-year MSc course “Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces” at Imperial College. The book is concerned entirely with mathematics proper, although the emphasis and detailed topics have been chosen bearing in mind the way in which differential geometry is applied these days to modern theoretical physics. This includes not only the traditional area of general relativity but also the theory of Yang-Mills fields, nonlinear sigma models and other types of nonlinear field systems that feature in modern quantum field theory.The volume is divided into four parts: (i) introduction to general topology; (ii) introductory coordinate-free differential geometry; (iii) geometrical aspects of the theory of Lie groups and Lie group actions on manifolds; (iv) introduction to the theory of fibre bundles. In the introduction to differential geometry the author lays considerable stress on the basic ideas of “tangent space structure”, which he develops from several different points of view — some geometrical, others more algebraic. This is done with awareness of the difficulty which physics graduate students often experience when being exposed for the first time to the rather abstract ideas of differential geometry.

Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists (2nd Edition) (World Scientific Lecture Notes in Physics)

World Scientific Publishing Company

This edition of the invaluable text Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists contains an additional chapter that introduces some of the basic ideas of general topology needed in differential geometry. A number of small corrections and additions have also been made.
These lecture notes are the content of an introductory course on modern, coordinate-free differential geometry which is taken by first-year theoretical physics PhD students, or by students attending the one-year MSc course “Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces” at Imperial College. The book is concerned entirely with mathematics proper, although the emphasis and detailed topics have been chosen bearing in mind the way in which differential geometry is applied these days to modern theoretical physics. This includes not only the traditional area of general relativity but also the theory of Yang-Mills fields, nonlinear sigma models and other types of nonlinear field systems that feature in modern quantum field theory.
The volume is divided into four parts: (i) introduction to general topology; (ii) introductory coordinate-free differential geometry; (iii) geometrical aspects of the theory of Lie groups and Lie group actions on manifolds; (iv) introduction to the theory of fibre bundles. In the introduction to differential geometry the author lays considerable stress on the basic ideas of “tangent space structure”, which he develops from several different points of view — some geometrical, others more algebraic. This is done with awareness of the difficulty which physics graduate students often experience when being exposed for the first time to the rather abstract ideas of differential geometry.

These notes are the contents of a lecture course given to third year physics undergraduates at the Imperial College who are taking the theoretical physics option. The subject of "Algebra and Groups" is of considerable importance in a number of branches of modern theoretical physics, and therefore one major objective of the course is to introduce the students to the basic ideas on the subject, bearing in mind the potential applications to quantum theory. However, another equally important aim of the course is to introduce the student to the art of genuine "mathematical" thinking. The notes are therefore written in a more precise mathematical style than is usually the case in courses aimed at physics students. Quite apart from the general educational value of such an exposure to abstract thinking, it is also the case that much modern theoretical physics draws on sophisticated ideas from pure mathematics and therefore it is most important that a perspective graduate student can approach these subjects without experiencing a total culture shock! The course is divided into three parts. The first is a short introduction to general group theory, with particular emphasis being placed on the matrix Lie groups that play such a crucial role in modern theoretical physics. The second part deals with the theory of vector spaces, with particular attention being paid to the theory of Hilbert spaces and the basic analytical techniques that are needed to handle the infinite dimensional situation. The final part of the course is a short introduction to the theory of group representations and the associated theory of characters.

LECTURES ON GROUPS AND VECTOR SPACES FOR PHYSICISTS (World Scientific Lecture Notes in Physics)