Introduction to Perturbation Theory in Quantum Mechanics

by Francisco M. Fernandez

Overview

Perturbation theory is a powerful tool for solving a wide variety of problems in applied mathematics, a tool particularly useful in quantum mechanics and chemistry. Although most books on these subjects include a section offering an overview of perturbation theory, few, if any, take a practical approach that addresses its actual implementation
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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040201374
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	09/19/2000
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Francisco M. Fernandez

Table of Contents

Perturbation Theory in Quantum Mechanics. Perturbation Theory in The Coordinate Representation. Perturbation Theories without Wavefunction. Simple Atomic and Molecular Systems. Bounded Domains. Convergence of the Perturbation Series. Polynomial Approximations. Scattering States. Classical Mechanics. Maple Programs. Appendices.

Editorial Reviews

A textbook for students of theoretical physics and chemistry on the approximation method, which can be used to solve a wide variety of problems in applied mathematics. Fern<'a>ndez (theoretical chemistry and mathematical physics, U. of La Plata, Buenos Aires) draws into a single volume a wide variety of techniques that facilitate applying the approach to particular problems in those fields, keeping the mathematics as simple as possible. He concentrates on problems that allow exact analytical solutions of the perturbation equations to avoid distracting students from the core of the problem with tedious numerical computations, but does resort to those when necessary. He uses the Maple software package for calculations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"Professor Fernandez [has been] active in the field of quantum mechanical perturbation theory for many years. … [T]he book has been prepared and written with-and to-the author's undisguised delight, offering a specific blend of the theory and computations. … The book informs the reader, in an admirably compact and still unbelievably digestible text, about virtually all the basic concepts … ."
- Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1048


"… summarizes in detail a wide variety of techniques used in perturbation theory that were developed for particular problems. To make the methods easily comparable, they are applied to the same models. Some of these models have exact solutions, so that improvement in the perturbation series and their limitations become clear…author intentionally avoids problems that require numerical computation and tries to keep the mathematics as simple as possible in order to concentrate the reader's attention on the ideas underlying each method…offers an invaluable source of ideas for theoreticians applying perturbation methods to various problems in chemistry and physics…it can also be used for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses…"
-Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 123, No. 26

"…a very substantial presentation of perturbation theory in quantum mechanics, much of which is based on the publication of the author and his coworkers…the book is clearly an important reference work in the field, and the author has completed a laudable task."
-Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2002

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