PH 515: Introduction to Atomic and Molecular Physics
Prof B.N Jagatap

Prerequisite

QM I, QM II, EM

Course Content

"Review of hydrogen atom and relativistic effects(spin orbit, mass-velocity and Darwin terms) Lamb shift, Rydberg levels, Spectroscopy: Transition probabilities and cross-sections, Lifetime, Line broadening mechanisms, Homogenous and in-homogenous broadening. Many electron atoms, L-S and j-j coupling schemes, Selection rules, Zeeman and Paschen-Back effects, Hyperfine interaction (magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole interactions), Isotope shift (mass shift and volume shift). Molecular structure: Rotational and vibrational degrees of freedom, Rotational-vibrational spectrum of diatomic molecules, Electronic structure of diatomic molecules and extension to simple polyatomic molecules, Selection rules for rotational, vibrational and electronic transitions, Cooling and trapping of atoms/ions with lasers."

Books

Not required

Lectures

The lecture notes were brilliant and comprehensive, you don't need to look further even if you want to get perfect scores in exams.

Assignments, Exams and Grading

The assignments and exams were quite easy in my opinion. Familiarity with the slides was enough to pull through. Also they were open book. Grading was lenient as well.

Tips

It is an easy and interesting course, with a lot of scope for application in research for those who want to pursue Physics.