Scattering Theory: Quantum Theory on Nonrelativistic Collisions

by John R. Taylor

This graduate-level text is intended for any student of physics who requires a thorough grounding in the quantum theory of nonrelativistic scattering. It is designed for readers who are already familiar with the general principles of quantum mechanics and who have some small acquaintance with scattering theory. Study of this text will allow students of atomic or nuclear physics to begin reading the literature and tackling real problems, with a complete grasp of the underlying principles. For students of high-energy physics, it provides the necessary background for later study of relativistic problems.
Topics are presented in terms of the simplest relevant example, so that scattering theory can be learned by becoming familiar with all of the basic concepts — the S operator, cross sections, the T matrix, and so forth — in their simplest context. The time-dependent approach to the subject is emphasized, starting with the use of time-dependent formalism to define all of the basic concepts and the subsequent introduction of the time-independent theory as a tool for computation and for establishing certain general properties. Problems at the end of each chapter improve and supplement readers' grasp of the material.

Genres: Physics

477 pages, Hardcover

First published August 2, 1972

About the author

John Taylor is Professor of Physics and Presidential Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He took his B.A. in mathematics from Cambridge University and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied the theory of elementary particles. He has taught at the Universities of Cambridge and London in England, and at Princeton. and Colorado in the U.S. He first came to Colorado in 1966. Since then he has won five university and departmental teaching awards. He is the author of three text books: a graduate text on quantum scattering theory; an undergraduate text on error analysis, which has been translated into German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, and Spanish; and an undergraduate

text on modem physics. The second edition of the book on error analysis appeared in 1997. His research interests include quantum scattering theory and the foundations of quantum theory, and he has published some fifty articles in journals such as the Physical Review and the Journal of Mathematical Physics. For several years he was Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physics.
For the past eighteen years he has given his "Mr. Wizard" shows to some 60,000 children on the Boulder campus and in many towns in Colorado. He received an Emmy Award for his television series "Physics for Fun", which aired on KCNC TV in 1988 -1990. In 1989 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation of the American Association of Physics Teachers. In the same year, he won one of eleven Gold Medals in the national "Professor of the Year" program and was named Colorado Professor of the Year. In 1998, at the invitation of the International Science Festival in Dunedin, he toured New Zealand and gave IS "Mr. Wizard" shows in various museums and colleges.