Abstract
In this chapter we will introduce Dirac’s bra and ket algebra in which the states of a dynamical system will be denoted by certain vectors (which, following Dirac, will be called as bra and ket vectors) and operators representing dynamical variables (like position coordinates, components of momentum and angular momentum) by matrices.2 In the following two chapters we will use the bra and ket algebra to solve the linear harmonic oscillator problem and the angular momentum problem. In both the chapters we will show the advantage of using the operator algebra in obtaining solutions of various problems.
Dirac to whom in my opinion we owe the most logically perfect presentation of quantum mechanics...
Albert Einstein 1
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References and suggested reading
P.A.M. Dirac, The Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Oxford University Press, Oxford (1958).
G. Baym, Lectures on Quantum Mechanics, W.A. Benjamin, New York (1969).
H.S. Green, Matrix Methods in Quantum Mechanics, Barnes and Noble, New York (1968).
H.C. Ohanian, Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (1990).
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© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Ghatak, A., Lokanathan, S. (2004). Dirac’s Bra and Ket Algebra. In: Quantum Mechanics: Theory and Applications. Fundamental Theories of Physics, vol 137. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2130-5_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2130-5_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-2129-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-2130-5
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