Foundations of Modern Physics

Foundations of Modern Physics
Author: Steven Weinberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2021-04-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1108841767

Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg explains the foundations of modern physics in historical context for undergraduates and beyond.

Introduction To Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations

Introduction To Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations
Author: John Dirk Walecka
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2008-07-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814365378

Our understanding of the physical world was revolutionized in the twentieth century — the era of “modern physics''. This book, aimed at the very best students, presents the foundations and frontiers of today's physics. It focuses on the following topics: quantum mechanics; applications in atomic, nuclear, particle, and condensed-matter physics; special relativity; relativistic quantum mechanics, including the Dirac equation and Feynman diagrams; quantum fields; and general relativity. The aim is to cover these topics in sufficient depth such that things “make sense'' to students and they can achieve an elementary working knowledge of them. Many problems are included, a great number of which take dedicated readers just as far as they want to go in modern physics. Although the book is designed so that one can, in principle, read and follow the text without doing any of the problems, the reader is urged to attempt as many of them as possible. Several appendices help bring the reader up to speed on any additional required mathematics. With very few exceptions, the reader should then find the text, together with the appendices and problems, to be self-contained.

Advanced Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations

Advanced Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations
Author: John Dirk Walecka
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2010-03-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9813101008

Our understanding of the physical world was revolutionized in the twentieth century — the era of “modern physics”. This book, aimed at the very best students, extends the coverage of the theoretical groundwork of today's physics presented in the previous volume: Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations (Vol. I). Typically, students have to wade through several courses to see many of these topics. The goal is to give them some idea of where they are going, and how things fit together, as they go along.The present book focuses on the following topics: reformulation of quantum mechanics, angular momentum, scattering theory, lagrangian field theory, symmetries, Feynman rules, quantum electrodynamics, including higher-order contributions, path integrals, and canonical transformations for quantum systems. Many problems are included that enhance and extend the coverage. The book assumes a mastery of the material in Vol. I, and the continued development of mathematical skills, including multivariable calculus and linear algebra. Several appendices provide important details, and any additional required mathematics. The reader should then find the text, together with the appendices and problems, to be self-contained. The aim is to cover the framework of modern theoretical physics in sufficient depth that things “make sense” to students, and, when finished, the reader should have an elementary working knowledge in the principal areas of theoretical physics of the twentieth century.

Foundations of Modern Physics

Foundations of Modern Physics
Author: Steven Weinberg
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2021-04
Genre:
ISBN: 9781108894845

"In addition to his ground-breaking research, Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg is known for a series of highly praised texts on various aspects of physics, combining exceptional physical insight with a a gift for clear exposition. Describing the foundations of modern physics in their historical context and with some new derivations, Weinberg introduces topics ranging from early applications of atomic theory through thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, transport theory, special relativity, quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, and quantum field theory. This volume provides the basis for advanced undergraduate and graduate physics courses as well as being a handy introduction to aspects of modern physics for working scientists"--

Topics In Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations

Topics In Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations
Author: John Dirk Walecka
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 499
Release: 2013-01-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814436917

While the two previous books entitled Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations and Advanced Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations exposed the reader to the foundations and frontiers of today's physics, the goal of this third volume is to cover in some detail several topics omitted in the essentially linear progression of the first two.This book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is on quantum mechanics. Analytic solutions to the Schrödinger equation are developed for some basic systems. The analysis is then formalized, concluding with a set of postulates for the theory. Part 2 is on applications of quantum mechanics: approximation methods for bound states, scattering theory, time-dependent perturbation theory, and electromagnetic radiation and quantum electrodynamics. Part 3 covers some selected topics in relativistic quantum field theory: discrete symmetries, the Heisenberg picture, and the Feynman rules for quantum chromodynamics.The three volumes in this series taken together provide a clear, logical, self-contained, and comprehensive base from which the very best students can learn modern physics. When finished, readers should have an elementary working knowledge in the principal areas of theoretical physics of the twentieth century.

Mathematical Physics

Mathematical Physics
Author: Sadri Hassani
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 1052
Release: 2002-02-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780387985794

For physics students interested in the mathematics they use, and for math students interested in seeing how some of the ideas of their discipline find realization in an applied setting. The presentation strikes a balance between formalism and application, between abstract and concrete. The interconnections among the various topics are clarified both by the use of vector spaces as a central unifying theme, recurring throughout the book, and by putting ideas into their historical context. Enough of the essential formalism is included to make the presentation self-contained.

Foundations of Modern Cosmology

Foundations of Modern Cosmology
Author: John F. Hawley
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 569
Release: 2005-07-07
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 019853096X

Recent discoveries in astronomy have revolutionized the field of cosmology. While many long-standing questions in cosmology have now been answered, the new data pose new mysteries such as the nature of the "dark energy" that dominates the universe. This second edition provides an accessible and thorough text on the physics of cosmology and a lively account of the modern concordance model of the universe, from the big bang to a distant future dominated by dark energy.

Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

Foundations of Quantum Mechanics
Author: Travis Norsen
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2017-08-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319658670

Authored by an acclaimed teacher of quantum physics and philosophy, this textbook pays special attention to the aspects that many courses sweep under the carpet. Traditional courses in quantum mechanics teach students how to use the quantum formalism to make calculations. But even the best students - indeed, especially the best students - emerge rather confused about what, exactly, the theory says is going on, physically, in microscopic systems. This supplementary textbook is designed to help such students understand that they are not alone in their confusions (luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Erwin Schroedinger, and John Stewart Bell having shared them), to sharpen their understanding of the most important difficulties associated with interpreting quantum theory in a realistic manner, and to introduce them to the most promising attempts to formulate the theory in a way that is physically clear and coherent. The text is accessible to students with at least one semester of prior exposure to quantum (or "modern") physics and includes over a hundred engaging end-of-chapter "Projects" that make the book suitable for either a traditional classroom or for self-study.

Introduction To Modern Physics: Solutions To Problems

Introduction To Modern Physics: Solutions To Problems
Author: Paolo Amore
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2013-08-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814520330

Our understanding of the physical world was revolutionized in the twentieth century — the era of “modern physics”. The book Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations, aimed at the very best students, presents the foundations and frontiers of today's physics. Typically, students have to wade through several courses to see many of these topics. The goal is to give them some idea of where they are going, and how things fit together, as they go along. The book focuses on the following topics: quantum mechanics; applications in atomic, nuclear, particle, and condensed-matter physics; special relativity; relativistic quantum mechanics, including the Dirac equation and Feynman diagrams; quantum fields; and general relativity. The aim is to cover these topics in sufficient depth that things “make sense” to students, and they achieve an elementary working knowledge of them. The book assumes a one-year, calculus-based freshman physics course, along with a one-year course in calculus. Several appendices bring the reader up to speed on any additional required mathematics. Many problems are included, a great number of which take dedicated readers just as far as they want to go in modern physics. The present book provides solutions to the over 175 problems in Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations in what we believe to be a clear and concise fashion.

Questioning the Foundations of Physics

Questioning the Foundations of Physics
Author: Anthony Aguirre
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2015-01-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319130455

The essays in this book look at way in which the fundaments of physics might need to be changed in order to make progress towards a unified theory. They are based on the prize-winning essays submitted to the FQXi essay competition “Which of Our Basic Physical Assumptions Are Wrong?”, which drew over 270 entries. As Nobel Laureate physicist Philip W. Anderson realized, the key to understanding nature’s reality is not anything “magical”, but the right attitude, “the focus on asking the right questions, the willingness to try (and to discard) unconventional answers, the sensitive ear for phoniness, self-deception, bombast, and conventional but unproven assumptions.” The authors of the eighteen prize-winning essays have, where necessary, adapted their essays for the present volume so as to (a) incorporate the community feedback generated in the online discussion of the essays, (b) add new material that has come to light since their completion and (c) to ensure accessibility to a broad audience of readers with a basic grounding in physics. The Foundational Questions Institute, FQXi, catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality, but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.