Course Outline
This is a course in the foundations of quantum mechanics, half theory,
half experiment. We will traffic in superposition, entanglement, and
environmental decoherence. The Quantum Challenge by Greenstein
and Zajonc will be our guide:
- We start with Chapters 1-2 on
wave-particle duality. Some surprises await,
despite the neat stories told in intro
quantum textbooks.
- As interlude, we will review the basic
formalism of quantum mechanics.
- Chapters 5-6 of Greenstein and Zajonc
cover entanglement along with the
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox and Bell's
theorem, which get to the heart (or lack thereof) of local reality in quantum
mechanics.
- Chapters 7-8 discuss decoherence and
the measurement problem, one of the
thorniest oustanding issues in quantum
mechanics. We will approach decoherence
through Schrödinger's original statement
of the cat paradox and recent experiments on
"cat" states in the lab.
In parallel with these discussions, we will run
experiments with entangled photons,
demonstrating the particle nature of the
photon, single-photon interference, and
violation of Bell's inequality.