OUP: UK General Catalogue

NEVER MISS AN OXFORD SALE (SIGN UP HERE) |

VIEW BASKET

UK and Europe

Book Catalogue

	Help with online ordering
	How to order
	Postage
	Returns policy
	Search the catalogue
	VAT rates

	Authors
	Description
	Links
	Reviews
	Table of Contents

Analytical Mechanics for Relativity and Quantum Mechanics

Oliver Davis Johns

Price: £47.50 (hardback)
ISBN-13: 978-0-19-856726-4
Publication date: 7 July 2005
626 pages, 66 line illus., 240x168 mm
Series: Oxford Graduate Texts
Search for titles in the same series

Comment on this title

Ordering

Individual customers:

order by phone, post, or fax

Teachers in UK and European schools (and FE colleges in the UK):

order by phone, post, or fax

Reviews

'The author deserves to be congratulated on the production of what soon will establish itslef as a well-respected and useful book which I am pleased to have on mu shelf. In short, it would be difficult to conceive of any initial course of instruction and study on the subject of analytical mechanics for relatively and quantum mechanics which would not benefit from use of this well-planned and conceived and refreshing presentation. Current Engineering Practice. Volume 48 2005' -

Description

Modern graduate text on analytical mechanics
Treats time as a transformable coordinate integrating special relativity with other, more traditional topics
Introduces notations and methods directly transferrable to quantum mechanics
Highlights the interface between classical and quantum mechanics
Pedagogic style, including many exercises, while maintaining mathematical precision for deeper understanding

This book provides an innovative and mathematically sound treatment of the foundations of analytical mechanics and the relation of classical mechanics to relativity and quantum theory. It is intended for use at the introductory graduate level. A distinguishing feature of the book is its integration of special relativity into teaching of classical mechanics. After a thorough review of the traditional theory, Part II of the book introduces extended Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods that treat time as a transformable coordinate rather than the fixed parameter of Newtonian physics. Advanced topics such as covariant Langrangians and Hamiltonians, canonical transformations, and Hamilton-Jacobi methods are simplified by the use of this extended theory. And the definition of canonical transformation no longer excludes the Lorenz transformation of special relativity. This is also a book for those who study analytical mechanics to prepare for a critical exploration of quantum mechanics. Comparisons to quantum mechanics appear throughout the text. The extended Hamiltonian theory with time as a coordinate is compared to Dirac's formalism of primary phase space constraints. The chapter on relativisitic mechanics shows how to use covariant Hamiltonian theory to write the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations. The chapter on Hamilton-Jacobi theory includes a discussion of the closely related Bohm hidden variable model of quantum mechanics. Classical mechanics itself is presented with an emphasis on methods, such as linear vector operators and dyadics, that will familiarize the student with similar techniques in quantum theory. Several of the current fundamental problems in theoretical physics - the development of quantum information technology, and the problem of quantizing the gravitational field, to name two - require a rethinking of the quantum-classical connection. Graduate students preparing for research careers will find a graduate mechanics course based on this book to be an essential bridge between their undergraduate training and advanced study in analytical mechanics, relativity, and quantum mechanics.

Readership: Graduate students and lecturers considering adoption as the textbook in a graduate course in Analytical Mechanics, at universities worldwide. Graduate students embarking on research in string theory or quantum gravity.

Contents

Part I: Introduction: The Traditional Theory

1. Basic Dynamics of Point Particles and Collections

2. Introduction to Lagrangian Mechanics

3. Lagrangian Theory of Constraints

4. Introduction to Hamiltonian Mechanics

5. The Calculus of Variations

6. Hamilton's Principle

7. Linear Operators and Dyadics

8. Kinematics of Rotation

9. Rotational Dynamics

10. Small Vibrations about Equilibrium

Part II: Mechanics with Time as a Coordinate

11. Lagrangian Mechanics with Time as a Coordinate

12. Hamiltonian Mechanics with Time as a Coordinate

13. Hamilton's Principle and Noether's Theorem

14. Relativity and Spacetime

15. Fourvectors and Operators

16. Relativistic Mechanics

17. Canonical Transformations

18. Generating Functions

19. Hamilton-Jacobi Theory

Part III: Mathematical Appendices

A. Vector Fundamentals

B. Matrices and Determinants

C. Eigenvalue Problem with General Metric

D. The Calculus of Many Variables

E. Geometry of Phase Space

Authors, editors, and contributors

Oliver Davis Johns, Department of Physics, San Francisco State University

Links to web resources and related information

Errata and addenda

More in the same subject area:
Relativity physics
Quantum physics (quantum mechanics
Classical mechanics
Analytical mechanics
Non-relativistic quantum mechanics
Relativistic quantum mechanics & quantum field theory
Applied mathematics

The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.