Quantum Mechanics

by P.J.E. Peebles

From the Nobel Prize–winning physicist

P. J. E. Peebles teaches the often counterintuitive physics of quantum mechanics by working through detailed applications of general ideas. A principal example used in the book is the hyperfine structure of atomic hydrogen (the 21 cm line): the computation of the energy splitting and the induced and spontaneous transition rates. Peebles makes room for such calculations by omitting unneeded elements that can be readily found in the standard treatises after one fully understands the principles of quantum mechanics. To give a flavor of the discovery of the remarkable world picture of quantum mechanics, the author presents a set of examples of physics that are well worth knowing even aside from their historical interest. Then the general principles of quantum mechanics are stated first in terms of wave mechanics and then in the standard abstract linear space formalism. Measurement theory, an essential part of quantum mechanics, is discussed in some detail. The book also emphasizes the art of numerical estimates. And, lastly, a large number of problems are presented, some easy, some challenging, but all selected because they are physically interesting. The book is designed for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students in physics.

Genres: Physics

444 pages, Hardcover

First published March 23, 1992

About the author

also Phillip James Edwin Peebles, P. James E. Peebles

Phillip James Edwin Peebles was born in Winnipeg, Canada, Province of Manitoba, on April 25, 1935. Living in the tiny town of St. Vital and graduating in a high school class of 12, his interests in science were not tapped until his college days. Although planning to study engineering at the University of Manitoba, he encountered four inspirational physics professors who sparked a career in physics. He received his BS degree from the University in 1958 and moved next to Princeton University, intending to study particle physics.

Instead he became the only student of his influential mentor, Robert Dicke, to enter into theoretical physics. Under Dicke's influence Peebles gradually moved from studies of gravity to astronomy and from astronomy to cosmology. Dicke also planted the original seed that inspired Peebles to look for the presence of background radiation in the universe. In 1965, as a result of Peebles' post doctoral research, he and Dicke boldly predicted the existence of cosmic background radiation. In 1966 he began work on the theoretical calculations that would make cosmological studies an important topic for physicists. His book Physical Cosmology (1971) established the framework for a series of challenging new theoretical proposals that helped shape the field of cosmological studies. In 1984 Peebles was named Albert Einstein Professor of Science at Princeton University.

Peebles has written many influential and provocative articles in addition to his important books. His contributions have been recognized with honorary degrees from the University of Toronto, University of Chicago, McMaster University, University of Manitoba, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and the Université Catholique de Louvain. He has also received important awards, including the Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1981) and the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1998).

Prof. Peebles and his wife, Alison, live in Princeton, New Jersey, where they share an interest in gardening and in exploring nature. Although he plans to retire from his faculty position at Princeton in the near future, he does not plan to discontinue his life long pursuit of understanding the nature of the