Quantum Mechanics with Applications to Nanotechnology and Information Science

Quantum mechanics transcends and supplants classical mechanics at the atomic and subatomic levels. It provides the underlying framework for many subfields of physics, chemistry and materials science, including condensed matter physics, atomic physics, molecular physics, quantum chemistry, particle physics, and nuclear physics. It is the only way we can understand the structure of materials, from the semiconductors in our computers to the metal in our automobiles. It is also the scaffolding supporting much of nanoscience and nanotechnology. The purpose of this book is to present the fundamentals of quantum theory within a modern perspective, with emphasis on applications to nanoscience and nanotechnology, and information-technology. As the frontiers of science have advanced, the sort of curriculum adequate for students in the sciences and engineering twenty years ago is no longer satisfactory today. Hence, the emphasis on new topics that are not included in older reference texts, such as quantum information theory, decoherence and dissipation, and on applications to nanotechnology, including quantum dots, wires and wells.