In the 1920s, when quantum mechanics was in its infancy, chemists and
solid state physicists had little choice but to manipulate unwieldy
equations to determine the properties of even the simplest molecules.
When mathematicians turned their attention to the equations of quantum
mechanics, they discovered that these could be expressed in terms of
group theory, and from group theory it was a short step to operator
methods.
This important development lay largely dormant until this book was
originally published in 1963. In this pathbreaking publication, Brian
Judd made the operator techniques of mathematicians comprehensible to
physicists and chemists. He extended the existing methods so that they
could handle heavier, more complex molecules and calculate their energy
levels, and from there, it was another short step to the mathematical
analysis of spectra. This book provides a first-class introduction to
continuous groups for physicists and chemists. Although first written
from the perspective of atomic spectroscopy, its major topics and
methods will appeal to anyone who has an interest in understanding
particle theories of nuclear physics.
Originally published in 1998.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand
technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from
the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions
preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting
them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the
Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich
scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by
Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.