This book provides a concise introduction to both the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity. The format is chosen to provide the basis for a single semester course which can take the students all the way from the foundations of special relativity to the core results of general relativity: the Einstein equation and the equations of motion for particles and light in curved spacetime. To facilitate access to the topics of special and general relativity for science and engineering students without prior training in relativity or geometry, the relevant geometric notions are also introduced and developed from the ground up. Students in physics, mathematics or engineering with an interest to learn Einstein's theories of relativity should be able to use this book already in the second semester of their third year. The book could also be used as the basis of a graduate level introduction to relativity for students who did not learn relativity as part of their undergraduate training.

This textbook, now in an expanded third edition, emphasizes the importance of advanced quantum mechanics for materials science and all experimental techniques which employ photon absorption, emission, or scattering. Important aspects of introductory quantum mechanics are covered in the first seven chapters to make the subject self-contained and accessible for a wide audience. Advanced Quantum Mechanics: Materials and Photons can therefore be used for advanced undergraduate courses and introductory graduate courses which are targeted towards students with diverse academic backgrounds from the Natural Sciences or Engineering. To enhance this inclusive aspect of making the subject as accessible as possible, introductions to Lagrangian mechanics and the covariant formulation of electrodynamics are provided in appendices. This third edition includes 60 new exercises, new and improved illustrations, and new material on interpretations of quantum mechanics. Other special features include an introduction to Lagrangian field theory and an integrated discussion of transition amplitudes with discrete or continuous initial or final states. Once students have acquired an understanding of basic quantum mechanics and classical field theory, canonical field quantization is easy. Furthermore, the integrated discussion of transition amplitudes naturally leads to the notions of transition probabilities, decay rates, absorption cross sections and scattering cross sections, which are important for all experimental techniques that use photon probes.

Advanced Quantum Mechanics: Materials and Photons is a textbook which emphasizes the importance of advanced quantum mechanics for materials science and all experimental techniques which employ photon absorption, emission, or scattering. Important aspects of introductory quantum mechanics are covered in the first seven chapters to make the subject self-contained and accessible for a wide audience. The textbook can therefore be used for advanced undergraduate courses and introductory graduate courses which are targeted towards students with diverse academic backgrounds from the Natural Sciences or Engineering. To enhance this inclusive aspect of making the subject as accessible as possible, Appendices A and B also provide introductions to Lagrangian mechanics and the covariant formulation of electrodynamics. Other special features include an introduction to Lagrangian field theory and an integrated discussion of transition amplitudes with discrete or continuous initial or final states. Once students have acquired an understanding of basic quantum mechanics and classical field theory, canonical field quantization is easy. Furthermore, the integrated discussion of transition amplitudes naturally leads to the notions of transition probabilities, decay rates, absorption cross sections and scattering cross sections, which are important for all experimental techniques that use photon probes. Quantization is first discussed for the Schroedinger field before the relativistic Maxwell, Klein-Gordon and Dirac fields are quantized. Quantized Schroedinger field theory is not only important for condensed matter physics and materials science, but also provides the easiest avenue to general field quantization and is therefore also useful for students with an interest in nuclear and particle physics. The quantization of the Maxwell field is performed in Coulomb gauge. This is the appropriate and practically most useful quantization procedure in condensed matter physics, chemistry, and materials science because it naturally separates the effects of Coulomb interactions, exchange interactions, and photon scattering. The appendices contain additional material that is usually not found in standard quantum mechanics textbooks, including a completeness proof of eigenfunctions of one-dimensional Sturm-Liouville problems, logarithms of matrices, and Green's functions in different dimensions.

This book provides a concise introduction to both the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity. The format is chosen to provide the basis for a single semester course which can take the students all the way from the foundations of special relativity to the core results of general relativity: the Einstein equation and the equations of motion for particles and light in curved spacetime. To facilitate access to the topics of special and general relativity for science and engineering students without prior training in relativity or geometry, the relevant geometric notions are also introduced and developed from the ground up. Students in physics, mathematics or engineering with an interest to learn Einstein's theories of relativity should be able to use this book already in the second semester of their third year. The book could also be used as the basis of a graduate level introduction to relativity for students who did not learn relativity as part of their undergraduate training.

This book provides a concise introduction to the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity. The format has been chosen to provide the basis for a single semester course that can take the students all the way from the foundations of special relativity to the core results of general relativity: the Einstein equation, and the equations of motion for particles and light in curved spacetime. To facilitate access to the topics of special and general relativity for science and engineering students, without prior training in relativity or geometry, the relevant geometric notions are also introduced.