Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics
| Author | John von Neumann |
|---|---|
| Original title | Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik |
| Language | German |
| Subject | Quantum mechanics |
| Published | 1932 |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Publication place | Berlin, Germany |
Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (German: Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik) is a quantum mechanics book written by John von Neumann in 1932. It is an important early work in the development of the mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics. The book mainly summarizes results that von Neumann had published in earlier papers.
Von Neumman formalized quantum mechanics using the concept of Hilbert spaces and linear operators. He acknowledged the previous work by Paul Dirac on the mathematical formalization of quantum mechanics, but was skeptical of Dirac's use of delta functions. He wrote the book in an attempt to be even more mathematically rigorous than Dirac. It was von Neumann's last book in German, afterwards he started publishing in English.