Uber quantentheoretische Umdeutung kinematischer und mechanischer Beziehungen in Zeitschrift fur Physik, 33, 1925, pp. 879-893. With: Born and Jordan Zur Quantenmechanik in Zeitschrift fur Physik, 34, 1925, pp. 858-888. With: Born, Heisenberg and Jordan Zur Quantenmechanik II in Zeitschrift für Physik, 35, 1926, pp.557-615 by Heisenberg, Werner and Max Born and Pasqual Jordan

Berlin: Julius Springer. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITIONS OF THREE LANDMARK PAPERS THAT TOGETHER FORMED THE THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF QUANTUM MECHANICS. "In spite of its high-sounding name and its successful solutions of numerous problems in atomic physics, quantum theory, and especially the quantum theory of polyelectronic systems, prior to 1925, was, from the methodological point of view, a lamentable hodgepodge of hypotheses, principles, theorems, and computational recipes rather than a logical consistent theory. Every single quantum-theoretic problem had to be solved first in terms of classical physics; its classical solution had then to pass through the mysterious sieve of the quantum conditions or, as it happened in the majority of cases, the classical solution had to be translated into the language of quanta in conformance with the correspondence principle... In short, quantum theory still lacked two essential characteristics of a full-fledged scientific theory, conceptual autonomy and logical consistency" (Jammer, The Conceptual Development 196). The work of Heisenberg, Born, and Jordan in these papers began to rectify these issues and together marked the "starting point for the new quantum mechanics," also called matrix mechanics (DSB).

"In May 1925, Heisenberg took on a new and difficult problem, the calculation of the line intensities of the hydrogen spectrum. Just as he had done with Kramers and Bohr, Heisenberg began with a Fourier analysis of the electron orbits. When the hydrogen orbit proved too difficult, he turned to the an harmonic oscillator. With a new multiplication rule relating the amplitudes and frequencies of the Fourier components to observed quantities, Heisenberg succeeded in quantizing the equations of motion for this system in close analogy with the classical equations of motion. In June Heisenberg returned to Göttingen, where he drafted his fundamental paper [the 1st paper], which he completed in July. In this paper Heisenberg proclaimed that the quantum mechanics of atoms should contain only relations between experimentally observable quantities. The resulting formalism served as the starting point for the new quantum mechanics, based, as Heisenberg's multiplication rule implied, on the manipulation of ordered sets of data forming a mathematical matrix. Born and his assistant, Pascual Jordan, quickly developed the mathematical content of Heisenberg's work into a consistent theory with the help of abstract matrix algebra [the 2nd paper].Their work, in collaboration with Heisenberg, culminated in their "three-man paper" ["Dreimännerarbeit", the 3rd paper] that served as the foundation of matrix mechanics. Confident of the correctness of the new theory, Heisenberg, Pauli, Born, Dirac, and others began applying the difficult mathematical formalism to the solution of lingering problems" (DSB).

ALSO INCLUDED in ZfP Volume 33 is a major milestone in gravitational wave theory: the Czech physicist Guido Beck's discovery of a family of exact solutions to the equations of general relativity representing gravitational waves with cylindrical symmetry (called 'Beck vacua' or 'cylindrical gravitational waves'). His paper, "Zur Theorie Binärer Gravitationsfelder" appears on pp. 713-738. ALSO: We offer the Heisenberg paper (Volume 33) as a lone offering. Heisenberg, Werner "Über quantentheoretische Umdeutung kinematischer und mechanischer Beziehungen" in ZfP 33, 1925, pp. 879-893.

ALSO, we offer Pauli's 1926 paper with the 1st significant application of & 1st validation of Heisenberg's new quantum mechanics. ("Über das Wasserstoffspektrum vom Standpunkt der neuen Quantenmechanik" in ZfP 36, 1926). CONDITION & DETAILS: In: ZfP 33 (1925), 34 (1925), 35 (1926). 8vo. (225 x 156mm). 3 full volumes. All but invisible ex-libris stamp on title pages; no other library markings whatsoever. Handsomely rebound in grey linen, gilt-tooled and lettered at the spine. Tightly and solidly bound. Very clean inside and out. Near fine condition.