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I'm studying quantum mechanics and I want to understand perfectly where the bands of the electronic sturcture come from. I've read that it is related with the periodic potential, Bloch waves and Kronig–Penney model but, honestly, I didn't understand it very well.

Can you recommend me some book that explains this topic, using all the topics I wrote above, in a more intuitive way rather than in a purely mathematical one? (Although a not too complex mathematical justification would be great, too).

Qmechanic
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Tendero
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  • Look at the links here: http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/12175/

    I like Ashcroft and Mermin, Kittel, Mardar, and Landau and Lifschitz .

     – Rococo Apr 29 '16 at 23:24
  • This is the simplest setting to understand bands: a single electron in a periodic 1D potential, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_in_a_one-dimensional_lattice, see also https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/760517/226902 and links therein. – Quillo Apr 20 '23 at 15:33

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I studied solid state physics last semester and we learned from "Solid State Physics" by Ashcroft and Mermin, but I assume that you can find these topics in every book about solid state physics.

Jakub Wagner
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  • I've looked it up and it appears to be a book written for that topic specifically. I'm looking for something a little bit more shallow, more oriented to quantum mechanics in general. Thanks for the recommendation anyway! – Tendero Apr 29 '16 at 16:49
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    Ashcroft and Mermin is a fairly general solid state physics textbook that covers the basics quite well. If that doesn't fit your bill, I'm not sure anything else really will. – Jon Custer Apr 29 '16 at 17:07
  • @M.S. - But solid state physics is where band theory arises. Ashcroft & Mermin is an excellent textbook and very clearly written. I suggest giving it another look. Both Ashcroft and Mermin are excellent communicators and teachers. (I knew them both when in grad school at Cornell, and Ashcroft was on my dissertation committee.) –  Apr 29 '16 at 17:09
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Ascroft & Mermin is a really nice book. But along with it I have read Introduction to Solid State Physics by Charles Kittel which is a very thin book, does not contain much mathematics(skips a lot of steps in calculations) and suitable for the topics that you mentioned. Condensed Matter Physics by Michael P. Marder is also suitable.

I would suggest to start with Kittel and then for mathematics choose between Marder and Ascroft.

Jitendra
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