This extra-curriculum course is designed for undergraduate and graduate students at RWTH Aachen University. The overall purpose of this course is to provide participants with basic knowledge and skills in quantum mechanics that can easily be applied to problems in materials science. The historical and philosophical background, such as black body radiation, quantum dualism, Copenhagen interpretation, and the EPR effect, are briefly introduced, but not discussed at length. Quantum mechanics is introduced via classical Hamiltonian mechanics and motivated by failure of determinism, as discussed through the uncertainly principle. The course covers areas ranging from basic quantum mechanical topics, such as harmonic oscillations, angular momentum, hydrogen atom, as well as periodic table of elements and molecules, to more applied topics, such as Bloch waves in conjunction with band structure, phonons, elasticity, spin polarization, perturbation theory, and density functional theory. Some special topics, such as quantum statistics, emission/absorption, and standard model in particle physics, are only briefly introduced. The course is given in the summer term.

• Contact person: Denis Music
• Learning material: compendium