More Than One Mystery: Explorations in Quantum Interference

ISBN-13: 9780387943763 / Angielski / Miękka / 1994 / 212 str.

M. P. Silvermann; Mark P. Silverman

Opis

"I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." #Richard Feynman#
Basing his discussion on a small number of conceptually simple models (the two-level atom, the two-slit interferometer), the author addresses a number of conceptually interesting questions concerning the puzzles of quantum mechanics. Though the phenomena arising from quantum interference are central, he maintains that they are not the only mystery in quantum mechanics: the deep connection between spin and the statistics of identical particles, the "ghostly" long-range effects that correlated particles exert on each other, and the perplexing role of topology in the interactions of charged particles and electromagnetic fields, are all conundrums yet to be understood.

Recenzje

"This is a beautifl and clear exposition of how quantum interference, non-locality and long-range correlations interweave to produce characteristically quantum effects that have no classical counterparts." - Nature "...illuminating and stimulating...one of the best sources of material on current aspects of modern physics" - Contemporary Physics

Spis treści

1 Fields Without Forces.- 1.1 The Enigma of Quantum Interference.- 1.2 Confined Fields and Electron Interference.- References.- 2 Around and Around: The Rotating Electron in Electromagnetic Fields.- 2.1 Broken Symmetry of the Charged Planar Rotator.- 2.2 The Two-Dimensional Rotator in an Electric Field.- 2.3 The Two-Dimensional Rotator in a Magnetic Field.- 2.4 The Two-Dimensional Rotator in a Vector Potential Field.- 2.5 Fermions, Bosons, and Things In-Between.- 2.6 Quantum Interference in a Metal Ring.- References.- 3 Interferometry of Correlated Particles.- 3.1 Ghostly Correlations: Wave and Spin.- 3.2 The AB—EPR Effect with Two Solenoids.- 3.3 The AB—HBT Effect in a Two-Slit Interferometer.- 3.4 Correlated Particles in a Mach—Zehnder Interferometer.- 3.5 Brighter Than a Million Suns: Electron Beams from Atom-Size Sources.- References.- 4 Quantum Boosts and Quantum Beats.- 4.1 Interfering Pathways in Time.- 4.2 Laser-Generated Quantum Beats.- 4.3 Nonlinear Effects in a Three-Level Atom.- 4.4 Correlated Beats from Entangled States.- References.- 5 Sympathetic Vibrations: The Atom in Resonant Fields.- 5.1 Beams, Bottles, and Electric Resonance.- 5.2 Two Perspectives of the Two-Level Atom.- 5.3 Oscillating Field Theory.- 5.4 Resonance and Coherent States: The Tell-Tale Mark of a Quantum Jump.- 5.5 Quantum Interference in Separated Oscillating Fields.- 5.6 Ion Interferometry and Tests of Gauge Invariance.- References.- 6 The Quantum Physics of Handedness.- 6.1 Optical Activity of Mirror-Image Molecules.- 6.2 Quantum Interference and Parity Conservation.- 6.3 Optical Activity of Rotating Matter.- References.