Foundations of Quantum Mechanics 2013 (SD 640)

Have you ever wondered about the mysterious "collapse of the wave function" or the "wave-particle duality"? Does Schrödinger´s cat make you uneasy? Do you have a feeling that there could be a deeper, more ´microscopic´ theory underlying Quantum Mechanics? Do you believe that trajectories are ruled out by Quantum Mechanics? Are you confused by the concept of spin or by fermions vs. bosons? Do you want to learn how the founding fathers´ "Gedankenexperiments" are now routinely realized in the labs?This lecture series addresses questions related tothe foundations of Quantum Mechanics. Topics include: Bell´s inequalities and Entanglement, Measurements, Decoherence and the quantum-to-classical crossover, Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics (including Bohm´s pilot wave and Nelson´s Stochastic Quantization), Extensions of Quantum Mechanics, Geometric phases (Aharonov-Bohm effect and all that), Particle statistics, Quantum electrodynamics (including vacuum effects, renormalization, and Stochastic Electrodynamics), Relativistic quantum mechanics.The lectures require knowledge as obtained in a standard first course on Quantum Mechanics (more background will be beneficial but not absolutely needed). Master-level students and PhD students (as well as postdocs) will probably get the most out of this course.Website:http://www.thp2.nat.uni-erlangen.de/index.php/Foundations_of_Quantum_Mechanics_(Lecture_by_Florian_Marquardt)