The Theory Of Complex Angular Momenta

This 2003 book is a rigorous introduction to the theory of complex angular momenta, based on the methods of field theory. This is an English translation of the famous lecture course given by Vladimir Gribov in 1969. Besides their historical significance, these lectures are highly relevant to modern research in theoretical physics.

A rigorous introduction to the theory of complex angular momenta, based on the methods of field theory. This is an English translation of the famous lecture course given by Vladimir Gribov in 1969. Besides their historical significance, these lectures are highly relevant to modern research in theoretical physics.

This book offers a concise introduction to the angular momentum, one of the most fundamental quantities in all of quantum mechanics. Beginning with the quantization of angular momentum, spin angular momentum, and the orbital angular momentum, the author goes on to discuss the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients for a two-component system. After developing the necessary mathematics, specifically spherical tensors and tensor operators, the author then investigates the 3-j, 6-j, and 9-j symbols. Throughout, the author provides practical applications to atomic, molecular, and nuclear physics. These include partial-wave expansions, the emission and absorption of particles, the proton and electron quadrupole moment, matrix element calculation in practice, and the properties of the symmetrical top molecule.

Application of quantum mechanics in physics and chemistry often entails manipulation and evaluation of sums and products of coupling coefficients for the theory of angular momentum. Challenges encountered in such work can be tamed by graphical techniques that provide both the insight and analytical power. The book is the first step-by-step exposition of a graphical method grounded in established work. Copious exercises recover standard results but demonstrate the power to go beyond.

A concise treatment by the future winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics, this work was first published under the auspices of the United States Atomic Energy Commission in 1952.