Group Theory: The Application to Quantum Mechanics 0486437981, 9780486437989

Upper-level undergraduate and graduate students receive an introduction to problem-solving by means of eigenfunction tra

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 0486437981, 9780486437989

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GROUP THEORY THB APPLICATION TO QUANTUM MECHANICS

PAUL H. E. MEIJER 17Ie Clltllollc UniNriity 0/ AIIterlt:G, Wash'IIgton D.C.

EDMOND BAUBR Laboratoire de Chi",. Physlqw, Pari3

1962

NOR.TH-HOLLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY - AMSTERDAM

No part 0/ this book 1IItly be reproduced In any form by print. plwioprint, microfilm or any othe, means wlthollt written permission from the publisher

PUBLISHERS :

NORTH-HOLLAND PUBLISHING CO. - AMSTERDAM SOLE DISTlUBUTORS FOR U.S.A.:

a division of INC. - NEW YORK

1NIEUCmNCE PUB USHERS,

JOHN WILEY &

SONS~

PRINT.ED IN THE NE.THERLANDS

BY N.V. DIJKSTRA'S DRUKKERU

v/H

BOEKDRUKKERU GEBROEDERS HOITSHMA

GJtQN1N9EN

PREFACE Seldom has an application of so-called pure mathematics to mathematical physics had more appeal than the use of group theory to quantum mechanics. Almost every student in this subject, after going through the necessary theorems, felt the satisfaction of overlooking a broad field,) Inastering it in its complete generality, as an award to his efforts. In recent years the availability of tables of coefficients has increased the applicability of many ideas introduced one or two decades ago and the number of papers applying the results of representation theory has been steadily increasing. The application of group theory to problems in Physics can be classified in two types. As an example of the first type we mention the considerati