Molecular Physics

In the summer semester, I am giving a course on Molecular Physics for the Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology - CIBIO, together with Prof. Pier Luigi Cudazzo and Prof. Franco Dalfovo. This two-modules course aims to provide students with the basic competencies on molecular quantum mechanics. At the end of the course, students are expected to: 1) understand the main differences between the physical phenomenology at the macroscopic level (governed by the laws of classical physics) and the phenomenology at the microscopic level, where quantum mechanical behavior takes place; 2) understand the concept of particle-wave duality, describe and critically analyze the main experiments which provide evidence of quantum uncertainty, wave-like properties of matter, and energy or magnetic moment quantization; 3) understand the mathematical and physical significance of the wave-function and the related time-dependent and stationary Schrödinger equation; 4) solve elementary problems in quantum mechanics (particle in an infinite square well, particle in a finite square potential, ground state of the harmonic oscillator); 5) understand and use the basic approximation methods of computational chemistry; 6) understand the basic elements of quantum computing.