E-Book Overview
This is the third edition of a well-received textbook on modern physics theory. This book provides an elementary but rigorous and self-contained presentation of the simplest theoretical framework that will meet the needs of undergraduate students. In addition, a number of examples of relevant applications and an appropriate list of solved problems are provided.Apart from a substantial extension of the proposed problems, the new edition provides more detailed discussion on Lorentz transformations and their group properties, a deeper treatment of quantum mechanics in a central potential, and a closer comparison of statistical mechanics in classical and in quantum physics.The first part of the book is devoted to special relativity, with a particular focus on space-time relativity and relativistic kinematics. The second part deals with Schrödinger's formulation of quantum mechanics. The presentation concerns mainly one-dimensional problems, but some three-dimensional examples are discussed in detail. The third part addresses the application of Gibbs’ statistical methods to quantum systems and in particular to Bose and Fermi gases.
E-Book Content
Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics Carlo Maria Becchi Massimo D’Elia Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Modern Physics Special Relativity, Quantum and Statistical Physics Third Edition Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics (ULNP) publishes authoritative texts covering topics throughout pure and applied physics. Each title in the series is suitable as a basis for undergraduate instruction, typically containing practice problems, worked examples, chapter summaries, and suggestions for further reading. ULNP titles must provide at least one of the following: • An exceptionally clear and concise treatment of a standard undergraduate subject. • A solid undergraduate-level introduction to a graduate, advanced, or non-standard subject. • A novel perspective or an unusual approach to teaching a subject. ULNP especially encourages new, original, and idiosyncratic approaches to physics teaching at the undergraduate level. The purpose of ULNP is to provide intriguing, absorbing books that will continue to be the reader’s preferred reference throughout their academic career. Series editors Neil Ashby Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA William Brantley Professor, Furman University, Greenville, SC, USA Matthew Deady Professor, Bard College Physics Program, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA Michael Fowler Professor, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA Morten Hjorth-Jensen Professor, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Michael Inglis Professor, SUNY Suffolk County Community College, Long Island, NY, USA Heinz Klose Professor Emeritus, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany Helmy Sherif Professor, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8917 Carlo Maria Becchi Massimo D’Elia • Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Modern Physics Special Relativity, Quantum and Statistical Physics Third Edition 123 Carlo Maria Becchi Department of Physics University of Genoa Genova Italy Massimo D’Elia Department of Physics University of Pisa Pisa Italy ISSN 2192-4791 ISSN 2192-4805 (electronic) Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics ISBN 978-3-319-20629-5 ISBN 978-3-319-20630-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-20630-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015946993 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London 1st + 2nd edition: © Springer-Verlag Italia 2007, 2010 3rd edition: © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned,