Consistent
QuantumTheory
Robert B.GrifÞths
, C ONSISTENT QUANTUM THEORY
Quantum mechanics is one of the most fundamental yet difficult subjects in modern
physics. In this book, nonrelativistic quantum theory is presented in a clear and sys-
tematic fashion that integrates Born’s probabilistic interpretation with Schrödinger
dynamics.
Basic quantum principles are illustrated with simple examples requiring no math-
ematics beyond linear algebra and elementary probability theory, clarifying the
main sources of confusion experienced by students when they begin a serious study
of the subject. The quantum measurement process is analyzed in a consistent way
using fundamental quantum principles that do not refer to measurement. These
same principles are used to resolve several of the paradoxes that have long per-
plexed quantum physicists, including the double slit and Schrödinger’s cat. The
consistent histories formalism used in this book was first introduced by the author,
and extended by M. Gell-Mann, J.B. Hartle, and R. Omnès.
Essential for researchers, yet accessible to advanced undergraduate students in
physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science, this book may be used as
a supplement to standard textbooks. It will also be of interest to physicists and
philosophers working on the foundations of quantum mechanics.
ROBERT B. G RIFFITHS is the Otto Stern University Professor of Physics at
Carnegie-Mellon University. In 1962 he received his PhD in physics from Stan-
ford University. Currently a Fellow of the American Physical Society and member
of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, he received the Dannie Heine-
man Prize for Mathematical Physics from the American Physical Society in 1984.
He is the author or coauthor of 130 papers on various topics in theoretical physics,
mainly statistical and quantum mechanics.
,This Page Intentionally Left Blank
, Consistent Quantum Theory
Robert B. Griffiths
Carnegie-Mellon University
QuantumTheory
Robert B.GrifÞths
, C ONSISTENT QUANTUM THEORY
Quantum mechanics is one of the most fundamental yet difficult subjects in modern
physics. In this book, nonrelativistic quantum theory is presented in a clear and sys-
tematic fashion that integrates Born’s probabilistic interpretation with Schrödinger
dynamics.
Basic quantum principles are illustrated with simple examples requiring no math-
ematics beyond linear algebra and elementary probability theory, clarifying the
main sources of confusion experienced by students when they begin a serious study
of the subject. The quantum measurement process is analyzed in a consistent way
using fundamental quantum principles that do not refer to measurement. These
same principles are used to resolve several of the paradoxes that have long per-
plexed quantum physicists, including the double slit and Schrödinger’s cat. The
consistent histories formalism used in this book was first introduced by the author,
and extended by M. Gell-Mann, J.B. Hartle, and R. Omnès.
Essential for researchers, yet accessible to advanced undergraduate students in
physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science, this book may be used as
a supplement to standard textbooks. It will also be of interest to physicists and
philosophers working on the foundations of quantum mechanics.
ROBERT B. G RIFFITHS is the Otto Stern University Professor of Physics at
Carnegie-Mellon University. In 1962 he received his PhD in physics from Stan-
ford University. Currently a Fellow of the American Physical Society and member
of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, he received the Dannie Heine-
man Prize for Mathematical Physics from the American Physical Society in 1984.
He is the author or coauthor of 130 papers on various topics in theoretical physics,
mainly statistical and quantum mechanics.
,This Page Intentionally Left Blank
, Consistent Quantum Theory
Robert B. Griffiths
Carnegie-Mellon University
