Undergraduate Texts in Physics – serie

This textbook on quantum mechanics has been designed for use in two-semester undergraduate courses. Although the aim is to enable students to master the use of quantum mechanics as a tool, the author also discusses the meaning of quantum concepts.

This second, revised and thoroughly updated edition of the successful textbook by Claus Grupen describes the branch of astrophysics known as astroparticle physics. Using experimental methods known from cosmic ray and particle physics, astroparticle physics investigates processes of highest energies taking place in the universe. The new edition reports on progress made by recent discoveries in gravitational wave astronomy and neutrino astronomy (including all details needed to understand recent discoveries in multi-messenger experiments) and also astrobiology. After a historical introduction to the basics of elementary particles the author describes their interactions and the relevant detection techniques. The main body of the book concerns cosmic rays as well as particle processes in astrophysics and cosmology including the physics of the early universe.The book provides an orientation in the field of astroparticle physics that many beginners might be looking for.It also presents new sections exploring the interface between particle physics and cosmic radiation and illustrates the impact of particle physics discoveries to astroparticle physics. The physics is presented using little mathematics, and the results are illustrated by many diagrams and illustrative scientific cartoons which ease the reading of the book. Closing the gap between expert and popular level, the book is highly recommended for undergraduate students in physics or astronomy. It also includes an extensive glossary and a detailed index.

The revised and updated 2nd edition of this established textbook provides a self-contained introduction to the general theory of relativity, describing not only the physical principles and applications of the theory, but also the mathematics needed, in particular the calculus of differential forms.Updated throughout, the book contains more detailed explanations and extended discussions of several conceptual points, and strengthened mathematical deductions where required. It includes examples of work conducted in the ten years since the first edition of the book was published, for example the pedagogically helpful concept of a "river of space" and a more detailed discussion of how far the principle of relativity is contained in the general theory of relativity. Also presented is a discussion of the concept of the 'gravitational field' in Einstein's theory, and some new material concerning the 'twin paradox' in the theory of relativity.Finally, the book contains a new section about gravitational waves, exploring the dramatic progress in this field following the LIGO observations.Based on a long-established masters course, the book serves advanced undergraduate and graduate level students, and also provides a useful reference for researchers.

This book, now in its third edition, offers a practical guide to the use of probability and statistics in experimental physics that is of value for both advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Focusing on applications and theorems and techniques actually used in experimental research, it includes worked problems with solutions, as well as homework exercises to aid understanding. Suitable for readers with no prior knowledge of statistical techniques, the book comprehensively discusses the topic and features a number of interesting and amusing applications that are often neglected. Providing an introduction to neural net techniques that encompasses deep learning, adversarial neural networks, and boosted decision trees, this new edition includes updated chapters with, for example, additions relating to generating and characteristic functions, Bayes’ theorem, the Feldman-Cousins method, Lagrange multipliers for constraints, estimation of likelihood ratios, and unfolding problems.

This book on the use of Arduino and Smartphones in physics experiments, with a focus on mechanics, introduces various techniques by way of examples. C-like structures are introduced in teaching how to program Arduino, while data collection and analysis is done using Python.

This undergraduate textbook breaks down the basics of Nuclear Structure and modern Particle Physics. Based on a comprehensive set of course notes, it covers all the introductory material and latest research developments required by third- and fourth-year physics students. The textbook is divided into two parts.

Any curriculum involving science and/or engineering will eventually find itself entering the realm of physics. This book seeks to introduce students to a number of the fundamental concepts in physics and illustrate how different theories were developed out of physical observations and phenomena.

This classroom-tested textbook is an innovative, comprehensive, and forward-looking introductory undergraduate physics course. While it clearly explains physical principles and equips the student with a full range of quantitative tools and methods, the material is firmly grounded in biological relevance and is brought to life with plenty of biological examples throughout.It is designed to be a self-contained text for a two-semester sequence of introductory physics for biology and premedical students, covering kinematics and Newton’s laws, energy, probability, diffusion, rates of change, statistical mechanics, fluids, vibrations, waves, electromagnetism, and optics.Each chapter begins with learning goals, and concludes with a summary of core competencies, allowing for seamless incorporation into the classroom. In addition, each chapter is replete with a wide selection of creative and often surprising examples, activities, computational tasks, and exercises, many of which are inspired by current research topics, making cutting-edge biological physics accessible to the student.

This book, based on classroom-tested lecture notes, provides a self-contained one semester undergraduate course on quantum optics, accessible to students (and other readers) who have completed an introductory quantum mechanics course and are familiar with Dirac notation and the concept of entanglement.

All these have in common that by taking a suitable limit, Newton's original principles re-appear. Newton himself acknowledged that 'if I have seen further (than others), it is by standing on the shoulders of giants'.

Experimental physics is an important part of the education of anyone interested in science or engineering, serving as one of the fundamental fields of knowledge for understanding how the world around us functions. This textbook seeks to present the topics usually covered in an experimental physics course for aspiring scientists and engineers in a concise but comprehensive manner. The book is organized into ten chapters on different topics, including work and energy, gravity, relative motions, and fluid mechanics. Proof of the most important theorems is given, and additional information is provided to stimulate the curiosity of the students. At the end of each chapter, performed exercises and exercises with solutions are offered to illustrate the chapter’s points and make their importance even clearer. Based on the author’s teaching notes from his own lectures, this book proves invaluable to anyone with an interest in developing a clearer understanding of such topics as mechanics and thermodynamics.

It provides readers with an in-depth overview of the wide range of quantum technology applications, from more well-known areas of quantum computing and quantum cryptography to lesser-known applications such as quantum communication, quantum-assisted measurement and sensing, and quantum microscopy.

This textbook aims to provide a unified treatment of classical electrodynamics and its applications, incorporating mathematical rigour, clear explanations of symmetry and invariance principles, and concrete connections to modern technologies.

This textbook aims to provide computing skills to analyze data collected by means of several types of experiments. Generally speaking, the analysis of data is complementary to experimental and/or theoretical activities, but, as a matter of fact, a fundamental part of the training process in scientific degree courses (such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering) consists in different laboratory activities, collecting data and then analyzing and interpreting them. Different analysis tools are available for this purpose, including commercial and open-sources ones. Some of them allow to analyze data in a user-friendly manner, and it can be helpful for the first approach for a student to a data analysis problem, but, at the same time, it represents a limit on the real possibility that students can achieve by using the computation potentiality offered by a good knowledge of programming languages. For this reason, at least a computing course is generally present in scientific degree courses, as well as in experimental laboratories in which part of the training time is devoted to analyze and visualize data.Part of the book is devoted to furnishing the rudiments of programming in C++, Python, and other open-source languages. In the second part, Root, a powerful and open-source data analysis framework, and the universe of the Python libraries will be introduced as a complete tool for data analysis, as well as their application and examples regarding physics experiments performed in laboratories.

This textbook presents the core elements of an introductory electromagnetism course, integrating computational methods throughout the explanations, examples, and exercises. This approach helps students develop stronger problem‑solving skills, enabling them to tackle complex and realistic physics problems earlier than would be possible using only analytical techniques. It promotes creativity, encourages exploration, and equips students with the tools to become active investigators while learning physics.The book’s philosophy is to provide worked examples that demonstrate the full workflow of solving physics problems, from modeling a system and simplifying it to an analytically solvable form to solving the complete model using computational methods. Each theoretical and computational step is clearly explained. Key computational techniques include numerical line, surface, and volume integrals; solutions to Laplace’s and Poisson’s equations; and computational analyses of simple and complex circuits. Laplace’s and Poisson’s equations receive particular emphasis, as the computational tools developed allow students to study complex systems in depth. By applying similar computational methods across different topics, students can identify connections within the theory and build confidence and proficiency.The book offers clear explanations of both analytical and computational techniques and includes a wide range of exercises: discussion questions, skill‑building tutorials, advanced homework problems, and extended projects that combine analytical and computational approaches in rich, contextual settings.