Table Of ContentUndergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics
Albrecht Lindner
Dieter Strauch
A Complete
Course on
Theoretical
Physics
From Classical Mechanics to Advanced
Quantum Statistics
Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics
Series editors
Neil Ashby, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
WilliamBrantley,DepartmentofPhysics,FurmanUniversity,Greenville,SC,USA
MatthewDeady,PhysicsProgram,BardCollege,Annandale-on-Hudson,NY,USA
Michael Fowler, Department of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville,
VA, USA
Morten Hjorth-Jensen, Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics (ULNP) publishes authoritative texts covering
topicsthroughoutpureandappliedphysics.Eachtitleintheseriesissuitableasabasisfor
undergraduateinstruction,typicallycontainingpracticeproblems,workedexamples,chapter
summaries, andsuggestions for further reading.
ULNP titles mustprovide at least oneof thefollowing:
(cid:129) Anexceptionally clear andconcise treatment ofastandard undergraduate subject.
(cid:129) Asolidundergraduate-levelintroductiontoagraduate,advanced,ornon-standardsubject.
(cid:129) Anovel perspective oranunusual approach toteaching asubject.
ULNPespeciallyencouragesnew,original,andidiosyncraticapproachestophysicsteaching
at theundergraduate level.
ThepurposeofULNPistoprovideintriguing,absorbingbooksthatwillcontinuetobethe
reader’spreferred reference throughout theiracademic career.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8917
Albrecht Lindner Dieter Strauch
(cid:129)
A Complete Course
on Theoretical Physics
From Classical Mechanics to Advanced
Quantum Statistics
123
Albrecht Lindner DieterStrauch
Pinneberg, Germany Theoretical Physics
University of Regensburg
Regensburg,Germany
ISSN 2192-4791 ISSN 2192-4805 (electronic)
Undergraduate Lecture Notesin Physics
ISBN978-3-030-04359-9 ISBN978-3-030-04360-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04360-5
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2018961698
Theoriginal,Germaneditionwaspublishedin2011underthetitle“GrundkursTheoretischePhysik”.
©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2018
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor
for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
In memory of Albrecht Lindner (1935–2005),
scientist, teacher, friend
Preface
This textbook is a translation of the third German edition of Grundkurs
TheoretischePhysik(ABasicCourseonTheoretical Physics),originally published
byTeubner, Stuttgart,Germany. Actually, thiseditionismuchmorethan atypical
textbook since it offers a mixture of basic and advanced material of all of the
fundamental disciplines of theoretical physics in one volume, whence it may well
servealsoasareferencebook.Thelargenumberofcross-referenceswillguidethe
reader from the basic experimental observations to the construction of a “unified”
theory,andthepresentcompactnessshouldensurethatthereaderdoesnotgetlost
along the way.
A wide range of problems invite the reader to tackle further applications at
various stages of sophistication, and a list of textbooks offers the way forward to
possible open questions.
ThematerialitselfandthewayitispresentedisduetothelateAlbrechtLindner.
MycontributionisrestrictedmerelytothetranslationintotheEnglishlanguage;in
fact,mysincerestgratitudegoestoDr.StevenLylewhocorrectedthetranslationin
manlyplaces;whateverremainsofinsufficientvocabularyorgrammarisduetomy
limitedmasteryofthelanguage.TheonlychangesIhavemadearetoadjusttothe
publisher’s requirements, made some changes in the numerical tables as to be
expectedfromMay2019on,andadaptthelistoftextbookstoanEnglish-speaking
readership.
I am proud, nevertheless, to present this book to the English-speaking
community.
Regensburg, Germany Dieter Strauch
vii
Preface to the First German Edition
Like the standard course in theoretical physics, the present book introduces the
physics of particles under the heading Classical Mechanics, the physics of fields
under Electromagnetism, quantum physics under Quantum Mechanics I, and sta-
tistical physics under Thermodynamics and Statistics. Besides these branches,
which would form a curriculum for all students of physics, there is a complement
entitled Quantum Mechanics II, for those who wish to obtain a deeper under-
standing of the theory, which discusses scattering problems, quantization offields,
and Dirac theory (as an example of relativistic quantum mechanics).
Thegoalhereistostresstheinterrelationsbetweentheindividualsubjects.Inan
introductory chapter, there is a summary of the most important parts mathematical
tools repeatedly needed in the different branches of physics. These constitute the
mathematical foundation for rationalizing our practical experience, since we wish
to describe our observations as precisely as possible.
The selection of material was mainly inspired by our local physics diploma
curriculum. Only in a few places did I go beyond those limits, e.g., in Sect. 4.6
(quantum theory and dissipation), Sect. 5.2 (three-body scattering), and Sect. 5.4
(quasi-particles,quantumoptics),sinceIhavetheimpressionthattheessentialscan
also be worked out rather easily in these areas.
Section 5.5 on the Dirac equation also differs from the standard presentation,
because I prefer the Weyl representation over the standard representation—despite
myintentiontoavoidanyspecialrepresentationasfaraspossible.Inthisrespect,I
am grateful to my colleagues Till Anders (Munich), Dietmar Kolb (Kassel), und
Gernot Münster (Münster) for their valuable comments on my drafts.
Thanks go also to numerous students in Hamburg and especially to Dr. Heino
Freese and Dr. Adolf Kitz for many questions and suggestions, and various forms
ofsupport.Thegeneralinterestinmynotesencouragesmetopresentthesenowto
a larger community.
(Notes on figure production are left out here—D.S.)
Hamburg, Germany Albrecht Lindner
Fall 1993
ix
Preface to the Second German Edition
Thetexthasbeenimprovedatmanyplaces,inparticularinSects.3.5and5.4,and
all figures have been inserted with pstricks. In addition, three-dimensional objects
now appear in central instead of of parallel perspetive.
Hamburg, Germany Albrecht Lindner
Summer 1996
xi
Preface to the Third German Edition
The Basic Course (Grundkurs) was discovered in a third, extensively revised
edition,afterAlbrechtLindner,apassionateteacher,unexpectedlypassedaway.As
one of those rare textbooks which presents a complete curriculum of theoretical
physics in a single volume—compact and simultaneously profound—it should be
offered to the teacher and student community. In the present third edition the
material has been revised in many places, and the number of figures has been
approximately doubled. Also in this edition is an additional chapter containing
numerous problems.
My contribution here is restricted to adjusting the material to the changed
appearance required by the Teubner publishing company.
Regensburg, Germany Dieter Strauch
Spring 2011
xiii
