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Problem 5

This document is a problem set in quantum physics. It contains 5 problems related to quantum mechanics and nuclear physics concepts. Problem 1 asks students to estimate the probability that a neutron with kinetic energy of 5 MeV will be reflected at the nuclear surface when it enters the nucleus. Problem 2 discusses using the electron rest mass and de Broglie relation to estimate the zero-point energy of an electron confined in an atomic nucleus.

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33 views

Problem 5

This document is a problem set in quantum physics. It contains 5 problems related to quantum mechanics and nuclear physics concepts. Problem 1 asks students to estimate the probability that a neutron with kinetic energy of 5 MeV will be reflected at the nuclear surface when it enters the nucleus. Problem 2 discusses using the electron rest mass and de Broglie relation to estimate the zero-point energy of an electron confined in an atomic nucleus.

Uploaded by

Cherry
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Quantum Physics

Problem Set #5
Due: November 28, 11:20
1. (10 pts) When a neutron enters a nucleus, it experiences a potential energy which
drops at the nuclear surface very rapidly from a constant external value V = 0
to a constant internal value of about V =-50 MeV, and a neutron can be bound to
the nucleus. Consider a neutron incident upon a nucleus with a kinetic energy
Ek = 5 MeV, which is typical energy for a neutron emitted from a nuclear
fission. Estimate the probability that a neutron will be reflected at the nuclear
surface. In the case of reflection, the chain reaction stops as another fission will
not occur.
2. Before the discovery of the neutron, it was thought that a nucleus of atomic number Z and atomic weight A was composed of A protons and (A Z) electrons.
One problem with this scenario is that the magnitude of the zero-point motion
of a particle as light as the electron confined in a region as small as a nucleus.
(a) (10 pts) Regard the electron as confined in an infinite square well. Estimate
the zero-point (ground-state) energy E in eV. You should find an energy
much larger than the electron rest mass, i.e., E  m0 c2 , therefore the
relativistic effect is important.
(b) (10 pts) Using E = pc (since E  m0 c2 , and the de Broglie relation
p = h/, estimate the zero-point energy E.
3. Consider a simple harmonic oscillator.
(a) (10 pts) If a delta-function barrier is placed at the center of the simple
harmonic potential such that V (x) = 21 m 2 x2 + (x), what is the energy
spectrum?
(b) (10 pts) Show that when , only odd solutions survive, and the
energy spectrum is doubly degenerate.
4. You need to revisit Recitation 4 to finish this problem. To study the electrical
resistance of a long wire, one analyzes a simplified model of one-dimensional
electrons scattering against a random potential V (x). The potential is characterized by some transfer matrix M, such that the corresponding transmission and
reflection coefficients are T and R = 1 T . The electrical resistance of such
a system is equal to the following ratio:
=

R
.
T

(1)

where is properly normalized (divided by e2 /h) and is a dimensionless number.


1

(a) (10 pts) What are the values of in the following limiting cases: T = 0
(no transmission through the wire) and T = 1 (no reflection in the wire)?
Are these limiting values of physically reasonable?
(b) (10 pts) What is the expression for the (Eq. 1) in terms of the matrix
elements of M?
Suppose, the potential V (x) consists of many randomly-placed identical scatterers, for example randomly placed delta-functions. That seems to be a reasonable
model for impurities in metals. Each scatterer is characterized by a given transfer
matrix M1 , such that the corresponding transmission and reflection coefficients
are T1 and R1 , and the resistance of the scatterer is 1 = R1 /T1 .
(c) (10 pts) Suppose, the transfer matrix of n consecutive scatterers, Mn , is
known. One more scatterer is added at a distance a from the n-th scatterer,
so that the total number of scatterers becomes n + 1.
Using the symmetry restrictions on the form of the transfer matrix (M11 =

M22
, M12 = M21
, and |M11 |2 |M12 |2 = 1) and the multiplication property, express the resistance n+1 of n + 1 scatterers in terms of the matrix
elements of Mn and M1 .
(d) (10 pts) Taking into account that the distance a between the scatterers is
random, average the obtained expression for n+1 over a. Express the averaged n+1 in terms of n and 1 .
Solve the recurrent relation between n+1 and n explicitly and find behavior of n in the limit of small and big n.
You should find that n increases exponentially at big n. This is a manifestation
of the so-called localization of electrons in a one-dimensional random potential.
5. (10 pts) A small cubic term is added to a simple harmonic potential, such that


1 3
1
2
2
(2)
V (x) = m x x .
2
a
p
If a  ~/m, estimate how long it takes a particle in the ground state to leak
out to the region on the far right.

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