PH 301 Quantum Mechanics II 2018-19

Instructor: Prof. S. Shankaranarayanan

Course Name: Quantum Mechanics II ( PH301 )

Course Type: Theory (Core)

Credits: 6

Pre-requisites: Formal: None
Informal: Quantum Mechanics 1, Linear Algebra, Calculus

Course Content: 

Review of Quantum Mechanics 1, Symmetry in QM, Angular Momentum Addition, Wigner Eckart Theorem, Time independent Perturbation Theory (non degenerate and degenrate case), WKB, Time Dependent Perturbation Theory, Scattering Theory
Green's Functions

Books:

Modern Quantum Mechanics by J.J. Sakurai
Principles of Quantum Mechanics by R. Shankar

Lectures:

Lectures were on board. Attendance was taken regularly and a scare was given at the end, however DX was awarded only to students with extremely low attendance. Handwritten notes are uploaded by professor. The quality of lectures ranges from very poor for some topics to good for others.

Assignments:

Assignments were given biweekly and an extra tutorial session was kept for each sheet. Professor randomly asks students to solve a sum from assignment and students are graded out of 10 marks for overall performance. Assignments are of average difficulty with usually 2 questions out of the given 9 requiring some special insight. 

Exams and Grading:

2 quizzes (10% each), 1 midsem (30 %) and 1 endsem(40%) and assignments (10%). The checking is very very lenient. Grading stats were normal and can be checked at asc. Professor was willing to provide an AP grade to the top student, however was unable to do so due to low class strength. So, if class strength at your time is greater than 50, you have a chance of getting an AP here.

Online Useful Material:
Online study materials are very important for this course as standard textbooks are kinda not satisfactory for some topics. One such study material is the course 
http://bohr.physics.berkeley.edu/classes/221/1011/notes/wigeck.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-x9KdNjQmo&list=PL4buDdUD7fvhhVzL0weAjxugy5AZcYMXU (You Must watch lecture 34-39 of this youtube lecture series. All questions in quiz 2 were discussed in these lectures)

Advanced Follow up Courses:
QM 3(can be taken alongside), Atomic and Molecular Physics

Pro-Tips:

If you know the final answer to a question, write that down first. Chances are that professor might not even look at intermediate steps. 
There are subtle differences in sakurai edition : 
 the one available online(https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Quantum-Mechanics-Revised-Sakurai/dp/0201539292) and the Indian Edition. Try to use the former one. For example the chapter on scattering is rubbish in the Indian Edition however is exactly what you need for the course in the former edition. 

Personal Comments:

Respondent: Keshav Janyani