A First Introduction to Quantum Physics

Abstract

This book introduces quantum mechanics from simple experimental considerations, requiring only little mathematics at the outset. The key mathematical techniques such as complex numbers and matrix multiplication are introduced when needed, and are kept to the minimum necessary to understand the physics. However, a full appreciation of the theory requires that you also take a course on linear algebra. Sections labelled with indicate topics that are not part of the core material in the book, but denote important applications of the theory. They are the reason we care about quantum mechanics. The first half of this book is devoted to the basic description of quantum systems. We introduce the state of a system, evolution operators and observables, and we learn how to calculate probabilities of measurement outcomes. The second half of the book deals with more advanced topics, including entanglement, decoherence, quantum systems moving in space, and a more in-depth treatment of uncertainty in quantum mechanics. We end this book with a chapter on the interpretation of quantum mechanics and what the theory says about reality. This is the most challenging chapter, and it relies heavily on all the material that has been developed in the preceding nine chapters.