Topics in Quantum Mechanics

Editors
Robert McFarland Ph.D. and Lauren Todd MS

John M. Olin Library 

Washington University

St. Louis, MO

Introduction
The following are handouts from Professor Ronald Lovett's Chem 521 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics Department of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. A first-year graduate level course in quantum mechanics.

Regarding these handouts, readers should note the following:

• Topics are arranged alphabetically.  They are not arranged in any systematic order by topic.
• Handouts were used to augment and clarify class discussions addressing a specific topic relative to quantum mechanics. The intent was for students to read the handouts not as a continuous whole but rather as the enlightenment of a specific topic relative to QM.
• Professor Lovett often tailored handouts to specific QM classes depending upon overall class strengths and/or weaknesses.  Hence, some handouts with the same title are significantly different.  In some cases, the reader will see multiple versions of the same handout designated by a different creation date. This means there were significant changes from previously dated handouts on the same topic
• A few of the handouts veer away from quantum mechanics. These were often written for faculty colleagues who came to Professor Lovett with a specific question related to Statistical Mechanics or Quantum Mechanics

Professor Ronald R .Lovett
Department of Chemistry

Washington University

Campus Box 1134

St. Louis, MO 63130

BA Rice University
Ph.D. University of Rochester

Post Doctoral Fellow - Bell Telephone Labs - Murray Hill NJ