ELEMENTS OF MODERN PHYSICS

Maria Teresa MERCALDO ELEMENTS OF MODERN PHYSICS

0522200039
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
EQF7
MATHEMATICS
2024/2025

YEAR OF COURSE 2
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2018
AUTUMN SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
648LESSONS
Objectives
THE AIM OF THE COURSE IS TO INTRODUCE MATH STUDENTS TO THE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF MODERN PHYSICS, NAMELY TO SPECIAL RELATIVITY AND QUANTUM MECHANICS.
THE STUDENTS, AT THE END OF THE COURSE, SHOULD BE ABLE TO APPLY THE ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE TO SOLVE SIMPLE PROBLEMS OF MODERN PHYSICS.
Prerequisites
KNOWLEDGE OF MECHANIC, THERMODYNAMIC AND ELECTROMAGNETISM IS REQUIRED.
Contents
PART 1: INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL RELATIVITY (14 HOURS)
EINSTEIN’S POSTULATES. LORENTZ TRANSFORMATIONS. RELATIVISTIC DYNAMICS. THE FOUR-MOMENTUM. RELATIVISTIC ENERGY. THE MASS-ENERGY RELATION.

PART 2: WAVES (6 HOURS)
ELASTIC WAVES. STANDING WAVES. WAVES ON VIBRATING STRINGS. ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES.
INTERFERENCE. YOUNG EXPERIMENT. DIFFRACTION.

PART 3: INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM MECHANICS (28 HOURS)
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT. COMPTON EFFECT. WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY. DE BROGLIE’S HYPOTHESIS. SCHRÖDINGER EQUATION. HEISENBERG UNCERTAINTY RELATIONSHIPS. POSTULATES OF QUANTUM MECHANICS. HYDROGEN ATOM. QUANTUM SYSTEMS WITH MANY PARTICLES. BOSONS AND FERMIONS. DEFINITION OF QUBIT AND BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM COMPUTING.
Teaching Methods
FRONTAL LESSONS (48 HOURS);
THERE WILL BE ALSO SOME HOURS DEDICATED TO SOLVING PROBLEMS AND EXERCISES.
Verification of learning
FINAL EXAM CONSISTS OF AN ORAL INTERVIEW, WHICH
IS FINALIZED TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPTS STUDIED DURING THE COURSE AND THE CAPACITY TO APPLY THESE KNOWLEDGE.
Texts
1) D.HALLIDAY, R. RESNICK, J. WALKER, "FONDAMENTI DI FISICA - FISICA MODERNA", CASA EDIDTRICE AMBROSIANA, 2015;
2) S. FORTE, L. ROTTOLI, "FISICA QUANTISTICA" ZANICHELLI, 2019.
(UPON REQUEST IT IS POSSIBLE TO GIVE INFORMATION ABOUT EQUIVALENT TEXTBOOKS WRITTEN IN ENGLISH)

OTHER SUGGESTED READINGS:
- C. COHEN-TANNOUDJI, B. DIU, F. LALOË, “QUANTUM MECHANICS, VOL 1", WILEY-VCH VERLAG GMBH (2019)
- R. P. FEYNMAN, "LA FISICA DI FEYNMAN 3 -MECCANICA QUANTISTICA", (ZANICHELLI);
- D.J. GRIFFITHS, “INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM MECHANICS” (PEARSON)
- C. NOCE, "MODERN PHYSICS, A CRITICAL APPROACH" (IOP PUBLISHING)
- M.A. NIELSEN, I.L. CHUANG "QUANTUM COMPUTATION AND QUANTUM INFORMATION" (CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS)
More Information
- THE ATTENDANCE OF THE LESSONS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

- NOTES AND DETAILED BIBLIOGRAPHY WILL BE GIVEN DURING THE COURSE, ALSO THROUGH ONLINE TOOLS AND/OR PLATFORMS

EMAIL: MMERCALDO@UNISA.IT
Lessons Timetable

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