This course will be your ideal preparation to enter the broad field of atomic, molecular and optical physics. It is advised to take this course before starting a master’s thesis in one of the many research groups working on these topics in Heidelberg.

We will put a lot of emphasis on modern topics, such that at the end of the course you will be able to understand current research publications, and judge for yourself which topics you will find most exciting.

• J.-L. Basdevant/J. Dalibard: Quantum Mechanics, Springer, ISBN 3540277064.
• B.H. Bransden/C.J. Joachain: Physics of Atoms and Molecules, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, ISBN 047116433X.
• W. Demtröder: Atoms, Molecules and Photons, 2nd edition, Springer, ISBN 3642102972.
• P.W. Atkins/R.S. Friedman: Molecular Quantum Mechanics, 5th edition, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0199541426.
• C. Cohen-Tannoudji/B. Diu/F. Laloë: Quantum Mechanics, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 047116433X.
• D. Budker/D.F. Kimball/D. deMille: Atomic Physics - An Exploration through Problems and Solutions, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0199532419.
• C. Cohen-Tannoudji/D. Guéry-Odelin: Advances in Atomic Physics, World Scientific, ISBN 9812774963.
• H. Haken/H.-C. Wolf: The Physics of Atoms and Quanta, 7th edition, Springer, ISBN 3540208070.
• C.J. Foot: Atomic Physics, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198506961.
• I.V. Hertel/C.P. Schulz: Atoms, Molecules and Optical Physics, Springer, ISBN 9783642543227.

Lecture notes

For the moment they are still stored on an external service, but at some point we might move then here. The links are:

• Lecture 1 - Some cooking recipes for Quantum Mechanics
• Lecture 2 - A few more cooking recipes for quantum mechanics
• Lecture 3 - The two-level system
• Lecture 4 - Atoms in oscillating fields
• Lecture 5 - The Hydrogen Atom
• Lecture 6 - The dipole approximation in the hydrogen atom
• Lecture 7 - Beyond the boring hydrogen atom
• Lecture 8 - The Helium atom
• Lecture 9 - More on the Helium atom
• Lecture 10 - Propagation of light in dielectric media
• Lecture 11 - Laser fundamentals
• Lecture 12 - Entanglement
• Lecture 13 - Atoms with many electrons
• Lecture 14 - The spin in atoms with many electrons
• Lecture 15 - Diatomic molecules
• Lecture 16 - Molecular Orbitals of Diatomic Molecules
• Lecture 17 - Rotation and Vibration of Molecules
• Lecture 18 - Quantization of the Electromagnetic field
• Lecture 19 - Atom-Light Interactions and Dressed States
• Lecture 20 - A few words on quantum computing with trapped ions
• Lecture 21 - Let’s wrap it up.