A Quantum Approach to Condensed Matter Physics [Paperback]

A self-contained introductory text on the theory underlying the properties of solids and quantum liquids.This textbook is a reader-friendly introduction to the theory that underlies the many fascinating properties of solids. Assuming only an elementary knowledge of quantum mechanics, it describes the methods by which one can perform calculations and make predictions of some of the many complex phenomena that occur in solids and quantum liquids. This book, aimed at advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, leads the reader from the fundamental behaviour of electrons and atoms in solids to the most recently explored manifestations of the quantum nature of condensed matter.This textbook is a reader-friendly introduction to the theory that underlies the many fascinating properties of solids. Assuming only an elementary knowledge of quantum mechanics, it describes the methods by which one can perform calculations and make predictions of some of the many complex phenomena that occur in solids and quantum liquids. This book, aimed at advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, leads the reader from the fundamental behaviour of electrons and atoms in solids to the most recently explored manifestations of the quantum nature of condensed matter.This reader-friendly introduction to the theory that underlies the many fascinating properties of solids assumes only an elementary knowledge of quantum mechanics. Taylor and Heinonen describe the methods for performing calculations and making predictions of some of the many complex phenomena that occur in solids and quantum liquids. Their book, aimed at advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, leads the reader from the fundamental behavior of electrons and atoms in solids to the most recently explored manifestations of the quantum nature of condensed matter.1. Semiclassical introduction; 2. Second quantization and the electron gas; 3. Boson systems; 4. One-electron theory; 5. Density functlƒV