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Appendix C — Further Reading and References

This book covers the essentials at a level suitable for a first course. When you want a second explanation, more detail, or the derivations that we skipped, these are good places to look. They are grouped by purpose, roughly from the most accessible to the most advanced. Resources marked free are available online at no cost.

C.1 A second explanation, at the same level

  • McQuarrie (2008) and McQuarrie and Simon (1997): the classic chemistry texts for this course, with very clear derivations and many worked problems. Most topics in this book have a matching chapter in either one.
  • LibreTexts (n.d.) (free): open textbooks and course notes covering the same material, written by many different instructors. Useful when you want the same topic explained in different words.
  • MIT OpenCourseWare (2017) (free): lecture notes, problem sets, and exams from MIT’s quantum chemistry course.
  • Peverati (n.d.) (free): the companion volume, on thermodynamics and kinetics.

C.2 More depth on quantum mechanics

  • Levine (2014): the standard graduate-level quantum chemistry text, more mathematical, with complete derivations for atoms, molecules, and the variational method.
  • Atkins and Friedman (2011): a more formal treatment, including angular momentum, group theory, and molecular properties.
  • Griffiths and Schroeter (2018): the most widely used physics text on the subject, excellent for the postulates, operators, spin, and the meaning of the theory (Chapter 8).
  • Feynman et al. (2013) (free): Feynman’s famous lectures, which start from the two-slit experiment and build the theory around probability amplitudes. Good reading for anyone curious about why quantum mechanics works the way it does.

C.3 Electronic structure and computational chemistry (chapters 9–12)

  • Szabo and Ostlund (1996): the reference text for the Hartree–Fock method, basis sets, and the SCF procedure, with all the details of Chapter 10.
  • Cramer (2004) and Jensen (2017): modern introductions to computational chemistry, from Hartree–Fock to density functional theory, with practical advice on choosing methods and basis sets.
  • Sherrill (n.d.) (free): short, clear notes on Hartree–Fock theory, electron correlation, and many other topics, written for students.

C.4 Spectroscopy and symmetry (chapter 13)

  • Harris and Bertolucci (1989): an affordable and readable introduction to molecular symmetry, group theory, and vibrational and electronic spectroscopy.
  • Hollas (2004): a comprehensive spectroscopy text covering rotational, vibrational, electronic, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

C.5 Mathematics (Appendix A)

  • McQuarrie (2003): written by a chemist for chemists, covering everything in the math appendix and much more.
  • Boas (2006): the standard reference for mathematical methods in the physical sciences.

C.6 Data

  • National Institute of Standards and Technology (n.d.-c) (free): the recommended values of the fundamental constants (Appendix B).
  • Kramida et al. (n.d.) (free): experimental energy levels and spectral lines of atoms and ions (Chapter 9).
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology (n.d.-a) (free): experimental spectroscopic and thermochemical data for molecules, including vibrational frequencies and bond lengths.
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology (n.d.-b) (free): experimental and computed properties of small molecules, useful to compare the results of different computational methods with experiment.

References

Atkins, Peter W., and Ronald S. Friedman. 2011. Molecular Quantum Mechanics. 5th ed. Oxford University Press.
Boas, Mary L. 2006. Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences. 3rd ed. Wiley.
Clementi, Enrico, and Daniel L. Raimondi. 1963. “Atomic Screening Constants from SCF Functions.” The Journal of Chemical Physics 38 (11): 2686–89. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1733573.
Cramer, Christopher J. 2004. Essentials of Computational Chemistry: Theories and Models. 2nd ed. Wiley.
Feynman, Richard P., Robert B. Leighton, and Matthew Sands. 2013. The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Volume III: Quantum Mechanics. California Institute of Technology. https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/III_toc.html.
Griffiths, David J., and Darrell F. Schroeter. 2018. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics. 3rd ed. Cambridge University Press.
Harris, Daniel C., and Michael D. Bertolucci. 1989. Symmetry and Spectroscopy: An Introduction to Vibrational and Electronic Spectroscopy. Dover.
Hollas, J. Michael. 2004. Modern Spectroscopy. 4th ed. Wiley.
Jensen, Frank. 2017. Introduction to Computational Chemistry. 3rd ed. Wiley.
Kramida, A., Yu. Ralchenko, J. Reader, and NIST ASD Team. n.d. NIST Atomic Spectra Database. https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/ASD/levels_form.html.
Levine, Ira N. 2014. Quantum Chemistry. 7th ed. Pearson.
LibreTexts. n.d. Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Textbook Maps. https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps.
McQuarrie, Donald A. 2003. Mathematical Methods for Scientists and Engineers. University Science Books.
McQuarrie, Donald A. 2008. Quantum Chemistry. 2nd ed. University Science Books.
McQuarrie, Donald A., and John D. Simon. 1997. Physical Chemistry: A Molecular Approach. University Science Books.
MIT OpenCourseWare. 2017. 5.61 Physical Chemistry (Quantum Mechanics), Fall 2017. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/5-61-physical-chemistry-fall-2017/.
National Institute of Standards and Technology. n.d.-a. NIST Chemistry WebBook. https://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry/.
National Institute of Standards and Technology. n.d.-b. NIST Computational Chemistry Comparison and Benchmark Database. https://cccbdb.nist.gov/.
National Institute of Standards and Technology. n.d.-c. The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty. https://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/.
Peverati, Roberto. n.d. The Live Textbook of Physical Chemistry 1. https://peverati.github.io/pchem1/.
Sherrill, C. David. n.d. Notes on Quantum Mechanics and Electronic Structure Theory. Georgia Institute of Technology. https://vergil.chemistry.gatech.edu/notes/.
Szabo, Attila, and Neil S. Ostlund. 1996. Modern Quantum Chemistry: Introduction to Advanced Electronic Structure Theory. Dover.