Related papers: Enrico Fermi and the Old Quantum Physics
Einstein is considered by many as the father of quantum physics in some sense. Yet there is an unshakable view that he was wrong on quantum physics. Although it may be a subject of considerable debate, the core of his allegedly wrong…
Informal collection of lecture notes introducing quantum mechanics in phase space and basic Gaussian quantum mechanics.
Even the uninitiated will know that Quantum Field Theory cannot be introduced systematically in just four lectures. I try to give a reasonably connected outline of part of it, from second quantization to the path-integral technique in…
Quantum mechanics is a fundamentally probabilistic theory (at least so far as the empirical predictions are concerned). It follows that, if one wants to properly understand quantum mechanics, it is essential to clearly understand the…
We discuss the motivation for pursuing research on the foundations of quantum theory.
We discuss an unfortunate mistake, for a Dirac free particle, in the last Fermi lecture notes on quantum mechanics, in a course given at the University of Chicago in winter and spring of 1954. As is demonstrated, the correct result can be…
The theory of quantum thermodynamics investigates how the concepts of heat, work, and temperature can be carried over to the quantum realm, where fluctuations and randomness are fundamentally unavoidable. Of particular practical relevance…
The paper has heuristic character. The conceptual frame, based on the assumption of quantum uncertainty only, has been formerly introduced in two papers [S. Tosto, Il Nuovo Cimento B, vol. 111, n.2, 1996 and S. Tosto, Il Nuovo Cimento D,…
Quantum technology is seeing a remarkable explosion in interest due to a wave of successful commercial technology. As a wider array of engineers and scientists are needed, it is time we rethink quantum educational paradigms. Current…
According to De Broglie's idea of analogy, the relation between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics is similar to that between wave optics and geometric optics, we have given the quantum equation of the gravitational field intensity…
Majorana found a way to exploit the scaling properties of the Thomas-Fermi equation for converting this second-order differential equation into one of first order. We explore his method for the familiar neutral-atom solution and extend it…
Randomness is an unavoidable notion in discussing quantum physics, and this may trigger the curiosity to know more of its cultural history. This text is an invitation to explore the position on the matter of Thomas Aquinas, one of the most…
Quantum mechanics has enjoyed a multitude of successes since its formulation in the early twentieth century. At the same time, it has generated puzzles that persist to this day. These puzzles have inspired a large literature in physics and…
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the quantum idea, the development, achievements, and promises of quantum mechanics are described.
The following is a translation of the paper by Walther Gerlach and Otto Stern that reported the first evidence for the quantisation of atoms in a magnetic field. The atoms have quantum states corresponding to a limited number of possible…
This article gives an elementary introduction to quantum computing. It is a draft for a book chapter of the "Handbook of Nature-Inspired and Innovative Computing", Eds. A. Zomaya, G.J. Milburn, J. Dongarra, D. Bader, R. Brent, M.…
Can we reduce Quantum Field Theory (QFT) to a quantum computation? Can physics be simulated by a quantum computer? Do we believe that a quantum field is ultimately made of a numerable set of quantum systems that are unitarily interacting? A…
Ultracold atomic gases have proven to be remarkable model systems for exploring quantum mechanical phenomena. Experimental work on gases of fermionic atoms in particular has seen large recent progress including the attainment of so-called…
This is a very gentle introductory course on quantum mechanics aimed at the first years of the undergraduate level. The basic concepts are introduced, with many applications and illustrations. Contains 12 short chapters of equal length,…
In this doctoral thesis we provide one of the first theoretical expositions on a quantum effect known as entanglement in time. It can be viewed as an interdependence of quantum systems across time, which is stronger than could ever exist…