4 ms·

I am a PhD student in physics and I would definitely say that linear algebra is more important.

dekhn 10y ago
My PhD is in biophysics. The Hamiltonion is a functional, pretty much all QM is application of Hamiltonians. I know both LA and FA; LA is basically introduction to FA.
- mathgenius 10y ago
  It really depends on the area. For quantum computing and quantum info theory it seems that mostly it is just linear algebra. The functional stuff is left for the really really clever people only (not me btw!)
  - dekhn 10y ago
    The way you describe it sounds analogous to computers: like saying "you only need to know C, not transistor physics, to program a computer". You can code on an existing machine, port your code to a new machine, but you'll never invent a new machine or architecture.
stOneskull 10y ago
What should I learn if I'm interested in learning linear algebra?
- jps359 10y ago
  algebra?
  - groovy2shoes 10y ago
    But what should I learn if I'm interested in learning algebra? N.B. My maturity level is normally only a half step above the average 12-year-old. I can play this game all day ;)
    - stOneskull 10y ago
      hey! you got me ;)
- krastanov 10y ago
  Your question is rather tautological... You can pick a text book or even an online tutorial. Understanding diagonalization (and more generally, spectral theory), scalar products, and norms would be a great start. Then you can pick any quantum information textbook.
- _greim_ 10y ago
  3Blue1Brown has a great video intro series on the topic. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw/vid...
  - stOneskull 10y ago
    terrific! thank you.
- elektropionir 10y ago
  I made notes some time ago that cover the linear algebra needed for Quantum Mechanics in some details and then go on to introduce basic QM at the end: https://graybits.biz/notes/quantum_mechanics/preface https://graybits.biz/notes/quantum_mechanics/preface
  - stOneskull 10y ago
    cool stuff. thank you.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

dekhn 10y ago

My PhD is in biophysics. The Hamiltonion is a functional, pretty much all QM is application of Hamiltonians. I know both LA and FA; LA is basically introduction to FA.

mathgenius 10y ago
It really depends on the area. For quantum computing and quantum info theory it seems that mostly it is just linear algebra. The functional stuff is left for the really really clever people only (not me btw!)
- dekhn 10y ago
  The way you describe it sounds analogous to computers: like saying "you only need to know C, not transistor physics, to program a computer". You can code on an existing machine, port your code to a new machine, but you'll never invent a new machine or architecture.

stOneskull 10y ago

What should I learn if I'm interested in learning linear algebra?

jps359 10y ago
algebra?
- groovy2shoes 10y ago
  But what should I learn if I'm interested in learning algebra? N.B. My maturity level is normally only a half step above the average 12-year-old. I can play this game all day ;)
  - stOneskull 10y ago
    hey! you got me ;)
krastanov 10y ago
Your question is rather tautological... You can pick a text book or even an online tutorial. Understanding diagonalization (and more generally, spectral theory), scalar products, and norms would be a great start. Then you can pick any quantum information textbook.
_greim_ 10y ago
3Blue1Brown has a great video intro series on the topic. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw/vid...
- stOneskull 10y ago
  terrific! thank you.
elektropionir 10y ago
I made notes some time ago that cover the linear algebra needed for Quantum Mechanics in some details and then go on to introduce basic QM at the end: https://graybits.biz/notes/quantum_mechanics/preface https://graybits.biz/notes/quantum_mechanics/preface
- stOneskull 10y ago
  cool stuff. thank you.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]