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Quantum Mechanics I, Sheet 3, Spring 2013: I. The Gaussian Wave Packet

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This document is the third sheet for the Quantum Mechanics I course at the University of Geneva in Spring 2013. It provides exercises on Gaussian wave packets, physical measurements of observables, and a particle in a one-dimensional potential. For the Gaussian wave packet problem, students are asked to find the Fourier transform at t=0, show the uncertainty principle holds, and derive an expression for the spatial width over time. For physical measurements, students calculate the variance for different wavefunctions and experimental results. For the one-dimensional potential, students find mean position, momentum, and derive the potential from the Schrodinger equation.

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Quantum Mechanics I, Sheet 3, Spring 2013: I. The Gaussian Wave Packet

Uploaded by

B Toure
25 views2 pages
This document is the third sheet for the Quantum Mechanics I course at the University of Geneva in Spring 2013. It provides exercises on Gaussian wave packets, physical measurements of observables, and a particle in a one-dimensional potential. For the Gaussian wave packet problem, students are asked to find the Fourier transform at t=0, show the uncertainty principle holds, and derive an expression for the spatial width over time. For physical measurements, students calculate the variance for different wavefunctions and experimental results. For the one-dimensional potential, students find mean position, momentum, and derive the potential from the Schrodinger equation.

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This document is the third sheet for the Quantum Mechanics I course at the University of Geneva in Spring 2013. It provides exercises on Gaussian wave packets, physical measurements of observables, and a particle in a one-dimensional potential. For the Gaussian wave packet problem, students are asked to find the Fourier transform at t=0, show the uncertainty principle holds, and derive an expression for the spatial width over time. For physical measurements, students calculate the variance for different wavefunctions and experimental results. For the one-dimensional potential, students find mean position, momentum, and derive the potential from the Schrodinger equation.

Copyright:

© All Rights Reserved
Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
25 views2 pages

Quantum Mechanics I, Sheet 3, Spring 2013: I. The Gaussian Wave Packet

Uploaded by

B Toure
This document is the third sheet for the Quantum Mechanics I course at the University of Geneva in Spring 2013. It provides exercises on Gaussian wave packets, physical measurements of observables, and a particle in a one-dimensional potential. For the Gaussian wave packet problem, students are asked to find the Fourier transform at t=0, show the uncertainty principle holds, and derive an expression for the spatial width over time. For physical measurements, students calculate the variance for different wavefunctions and experimental results. For the one-dimensional potential, students find mean position, momentum, and derive the potential from the Schrodinger equation.

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Quantum Mechanics I, Sheet 3, Spring 2013

Responsible for this sheet: P. Guarato ([email protected]), office 203, Sciences I

March 12, 2013 (EP, Auditoire Stuckelberg)

Prof. D. van der Marel ([email protected])


Tutorials: P. Barmettler ([email protected]), P. Guarato ([email protected])

I. THE GAUSSIAN WAVE PACKET

Consider an initial gaussian wave packet

(p − p0 )2
 
2 2 −1/4
ϕ(t = 0, p) = (πσ h̄ ) exp − .
2σ 2 h̄2
The equation of motion is given by the Schrödinger equation of a free particle

∂ p2
ih̄ ϕ(t, p) = ϕ(t, p) .
∂t 2m
(a) Find the Fourier transform ψ(0, x) of ϕ(0, p), at t = 0.
(b) For t = 0, show that ∆x∆p = h̄/2.
(c) Show that the spatial width of the wave packet at time t is given by

t2 σ 2 h̄2
 
1 1
2
(∆x(t)) = + .
2 σ2 m2

[Hint: to calculate some integrals in this exercise, it could sometimes be useful to try to ma-
R +∞ 2 R +∞ 2 −ax2
nipulate the standard Gaussian integral, −∞ e−ax dx =
pπ
a . For example, −∞ x e dx =
∂
R +∞ −ax2 ∂
pπ 1
pπ
− ∂a −∞ e dx = − ∂a a = 2 a3 .]

II. PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

(a) Consider the observable  of a physical quantity A, and its normalized (and orthogonal) eigen-
functions ψn (r) associated to the eigenvalues an (n = 1, 2). Calculate the variance (∆A)2 =
hA2 i−hAi2 when the wave function of the system is: (i) ψ1 (r) (ii) ψ(r) = c1 ψ1 (r)+c2 eiφ ψ2 (r) ,
where c1 , c2 and φ are real constants, and ψ(r) is normalized. [Hint: two eigenfunctions ψn (r)
and ψm (r) are orthogonal when ψn∗ (r)ψm (r)d3 r = δn,m .]
R

(b) Consider a particle in a one-dimensional system. At the time t = 0, the state of the system
is described by the wave function ψ(x, 0), and one measures the position x of the particle
immediately after t = 0. This process is repeated 10 times, and one finds the following results
(in nm) : 550, 478, 539, 498, 541, 497, 455, 496, 500, 479.

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(i) Calculate the expectation value hxi and the variance (∆x)2 of the position. Since the
probability law |ψ(x, 0)|2 is unknown, we will use the following formulas:
N N
1 X 1 X
hxi = xi , (∆x)2 = (xi − hxi)2 (1)
N N −1
i=1 i=1

(ii) One repeats the experiment, but immediately after every measurement of the position,
one performs a new measurement of the position. What are the results for the expectation
value and the variance after this series of measurements?

III. PARTICLE IN A ONE-DIMENSIONAL POTENTIAL

A particle of mass m moves in one dimension under the influence of a potential V (x). Suppose it
2 x2 /2
is in an energy eigenstate ψ(x) = (γ 2 /π)1/4 e−γ with energy E = h̄2 γ 2 /(2m).
(a) Find the mean position of the particle, hxi.
(b) Find the mean momentum of the particle, hpi.
(c) Find V(x) by using the time-independent Schroedinger equation.

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