Advanced Undergraduate Quantum Mechanics

This textbook presents an introduction to quantum mechanics intended for undergraduate students of physics, chemistry and engineering with some previous exposure to quantum ideas. The book, based on lecture notes developed by the author over fifteen years of teaching undergraduate students, uses Heisenberg's approach to quantum mechanics based on the idea that a quantum system shall be described using only those quantities that can be observed. Using this idea, the concept of a quantum state and its realization as a vector in an abstract Hilbert space is introduced at the very beginning of the book and developed through the first four chapters, while the standard Schrödinger equation appears only in Chapter 5. In response to multiple requests by the author's students, the book features an unprecedented level of detail in derivation of technical results accompanied by a thorough examination of their physical content. The author has developed a text that can and shall be read rather than used only as a source of formulas and postulates. To this end, it is written in a colloquial and personal style, making it easier for readers to connect with the presented material. Similarly, readers will find short, relatable snippets about the "founding fathers" of quantum theory, their difficult historical and personal circumstances, personal failings and triumphs, and often tragic fate. This textbook, complete with extensive original end-of-chapter exercises, is recommended for use in one- or two-semester courses for upper level undergraduate and beginning graduate students in physics, chemistry, or engineering.