Quantum Calisthenics: Gaussians, The Path Integral and Guided Numerical Approximations
Abstract
Description
It is apparent to anyone who thinks about it that, to a large degree, the basic concepts of Newtonian physics are quite intuitive, but quantum mechanics is not. My purpose in this talk is to introduce you to a new, much more intuitive way to understand how quantum mechanics works. I refer to this method as a guided numerical approximation scheme and it is based upon a new look at what the path integral tells us about states in Hilbert space. I begin with simple exactly solvable models and show how to handle problems which cannot be dealt with analytically, this includes the treatment of the evolution of a Gaussian wave-packet in an anharmonic potential as well tunneling problems (i.e., instanton effects)
Invited Talk Light Cone 2008. 11 pages, no figures, link to web site where the reference animations can be viewed
Invited Talk Light Cone 2008. 11 pages, no figures, link to web site where the reference animations can be viewed