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Assignment 1

1) The document describes a particle confined in a 1D potential well and provides the theoretical background to solve the Schrödinger equation for this system. 2) It defines the potential energy in three regions and gives the wavefunction solutions for each region. 3) The problem statement asks to use the bisection method to calculate the ground state energy of an electron confined in a 1D potential well of specified width and height, and to plot the potential and wavefunction.

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8 views1 page

Assignment 1

1) The document describes a particle confined in a 1D potential well and provides the theoretical background to solve the Schrödinger equation for this system. 2) It defines the potential energy in three regions and gives the wavefunction solutions for each region. 3) The problem statement asks to use the bisection method to calculate the ground state energy of an electron confined in a 1D potential well of specified width and height, and to plot the potential and wavefunction.

Uploaded by

abijithkreju
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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Computational Physics Assignment No.

1
S6 B.Tech. Engineering Physics
Department of Physics, NIT Calicut

Due: 16 February 2024

Question
Theoretical Background: Consider a particle of mass m and energy E confined in a one-
dimesional potential well of width a and height V0 . The potential energy of the particle is given
by

V0 −∞ < x < −a (Region I)

U (x) = 0 −a ≤ x ≤ a (Region II)

V0 a < x < ∞ (Region III)

The solution of the Schrödinger equation in the three regions are given by

ψI (x) = C exp(βx)
ψII (x) = A sin(αx) + B cos(αx)
ψIII (x) = D exp(−βx)

where r r
2mE 2m
α= 2
, β= (V0 − E)
ℏ ℏ2
and A, B, C, D are constants. The solution can be classified into even and odd cases.
Even solution [ψ(−x) = ψ(x)]: A = 0, B ̸= 0, C = D. In this case α and β are related by
transcendental equation
α tan(αa) = β
Odd solution [ψ(−x) = −ψ(x)]: A ̸= 0, B = 0, C = −D. In this case α and β are related by

α cot(αa) = −β

The allowed energy values can be calculated by finding the root of the equation. This is
made simpler by writing them as

f (E) = α sin(αa) − β cos(αa) = 0

and
f (E) = α cos(αa) + β sin(αa) = 0
Problem statement: Using the bisection method of finding the roots of a function, calculate
the ground state energy an electron confined in a one dimensional potential well of width a =
0.3 nm and height V0 = 10.0 eV. In reduced units, we choose the mass of electron m = 1 and
ℏ2 = 0.076199 eV nm2 . Plot the potential and the wave function. [Note: The constants
appearing in the wave functions are to chosen such that the wave function is continuous at the
boundaries.]

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