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Physics Quantum Mehanics

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8 views13 pages

Physics Quantum Mehanics

Uploaded by

Aswathy achu
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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SIGNIFICANCE OF WAVE

FUNCTION

1. Definition and Notation


The wave function, usually denoted as 𝚿
or 𝝍, is a complex-valued function of
position and time.

It can be written as: Ψ(𝐫, 𝑡)


where 𝐫 represents the position in space,
and 𝒕 is time.

2. Probability Density

The absolute square of the wave


function, |𝚿|𝟐 , gives the probability
density.
The probability of finding the particle
within a small volume 𝒅𝑽 around a
point 𝐫 at time 𝒕 is given by:

𝑷(𝐫, 𝒕) = |𝚿(𝐫, 𝒕)|𝟐 𝒅𝑽

3. Normalization

For the wave function to be physically


meaningful, it must be normalized.

This means:

∫ |𝚿(𝐫, 𝒕)|𝟐 𝒅𝑽 = 𝟏

This integral extends over all space,


ensuring that the total probability of
finding the particle somewhere in space
is 1.

4. Schrödinger Equation

The time-dependent Schrödinger


equation describes how the wave
function evolves over time:

𝛛𝚿
𝒊ℏ ˆ𝚿
=𝑯
𝛛𝒕

where 𝒊 is the imaginary unit, ℏ is the


ˆ is the
reduced Planck constant, and 𝑯
Hamiltonian operator representing the
total energy of the system.
5. Observable Quantities

Expectation values of observable


quantities are calculated using the wave
function. For an observable represented
ˆ , the expectation value is:
by operator 𝑶

ˆ ⟩ = ∫ 𝚿 ∗ (𝐫, 𝒕)𝑶
⟨𝑶 ˆ 𝚿(𝐫, 𝒕)𝒅𝑽

Here, 𝚿 ∗ is the complex conjugate of 𝚿.

6. Superposition Principle

A wave function can be a superposition


of multiple states.
If 𝚿𝟏 and 𝚿𝟐 are two wave functions, a
valid wave function can be a linear
combination:

𝚿 = 𝒄𝟏 𝚿𝟏 + 𝒄𝟐 𝚿𝟐

where 𝒄𝟏 and 𝒄𝟐 are complex


coefficients.

SCHRÖDINGER'S EQUATION
In quantum mechanics, the wave
function 𝝍 corresponds to the wave
variable or the displacement 𝒚 of wave
motion in general.
However, 𝝍, unlike 𝒚, is not itself a
measurable quantity and may therefore
be complex.

The wave function 𝝍(𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕) for each


dynamic state of a particle is determined
by the forces acting on the particle.

The rule for finding 𝝍 is expressed in a


form called Schrödinger's equation.

It was formulated in 1926 by Erwin


Schrödinger.

If the particle has wave properties, it is


expected that there should be some sort
of wave equation which describes the
behaviour of the particle.
The Schrödinger equation gives an
equation for the matter waves.

(A) SCHRÖDINGER'S TIME-


INDEPENDEN'T WAVE
EQUATION
According to de-Broglie theory of matter
wave, a particle of mass 𝒎 moving with
a velocity 𝒗 is associated with a wave of
wavelength 𝝀 = 𝒉/𝒎𝒗.

If the particle has wave properties it is


expected that there should be some sort
of wave equation which describes the
behaviour of the particle.
Let us consider a wave propagating in
the positive direction of the 𝑿-axis with
velocity 𝒗𝒑 (phase velocity).

The classical differential equation for


the wave motion is given by,

𝛛𝟐 𝝍 𝟐
𝟐𝛛 𝝍
= 𝒗𝒑 𝛛𝒙𝟐 (1)
𝛛𝒕𝟐

where 𝝍 is the wave displacement for


the de Broglie wave at any time 𝒕 and 𝒗𝒑
is the wave velocity or phase velocity.

• 𝝍 is a function of space and time.

The three-dimensional differential


equation for the wave can be written as,
𝛛𝟐 𝝍 𝟐
𝛛𝟐
𝝍 𝛛𝟐
𝝍 𝛛𝟐
𝝍
= 𝒗𝒑 [ 𝟐 + + 𝟐]
𝛛𝒕𝟐 𝛛𝒙 𝛛𝒚 𝟐 𝛛𝒛
𝛛𝟐 𝝍
i.e., = 𝒗𝟐𝒑 𝛁 𝟐 𝝍 (𝟐)
𝛛𝒕𝟐
𝛛𝟐 𝛛𝟐 𝛛𝟐
where [𝛛𝒕𝟐 + + ] = 𝛁 𝟐, the
𝛛𝒚𝟐 𝛛𝒛𝟐

Laplacian operator.

The solution of the differential equation


(2) can be given as

𝝍(𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕) = 𝝍𝟎 (𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛)𝒆−𝒊𝝎𝒕

where 𝝍𝟎 is the amplitude variable


which is a constant at a point in the
space and is independent of time.
We can also write it as,

𝝍 = 𝝍𝟎 𝒆−𝒊𝝎𝒕
Differentiating the equation with respect
to 𝒕,

𝛛𝝍
= 𝝍𝟎 × −𝒊𝝎𝒆−𝒊𝝎𝒕
𝛛𝒕

and

𝛛𝟐 𝝍
= −𝝎𝟐 𝝍𝟎 𝒆−𝒊𝝎𝒕 = −𝝎𝟐 𝝍 (4)
𝛛𝒕𝟐

Substituting the value of 𝛛𝟐 𝝍/𝛛𝒕𝟐 from


equation (4) in equation (2), we get,

−𝝎𝟐 𝝍 = 𝒗𝟐𝒑 𝛁 𝟐 𝝍
𝟐 𝟐
(5)
∴ 𝛁 𝝍 = −(𝝎 /𝒗𝟐𝒑 )𝝍

But 𝝎 ≐ 𝟐𝝅𝝂 = 𝟐𝝅(𝒗𝒑 /𝝀); Since 𝒗𝒑 =


𝝂𝝀
∴ 𝛁 𝟐 𝝍 = −(𝟒𝝅𝟐 /𝝀𝟐 )𝝍 =
−(𝟒𝝅𝟐 𝒎𝟐 𝒗𝟐 )𝝍; since 𝝀 = 𝒉/𝒎𝒗; where
𝒗 is the velocity of the particle.

∴ 𝛁 𝟐 𝝍 + (𝟒𝝅𝟐 𝒎𝟐 𝒗𝟐 /𝒉𝟐 )𝝍 = 𝟎 (6)

If 𝑬 is the total energy and 𝑽 is the


potential energy of the particle, then the
kinetic energy of the particle,

(𝟏/𝟐)𝒎𝒗𝟐 = 𝑬 − 𝑽; ∴ 𝒎𝟐 𝒗𝟐
= 𝟐𝒎(𝑬 − 𝑽)

Hence equation (6) becomes,


𝟐
𝟐
𝟖𝝅 𝒎(𝑬 − 𝑽)
𝛁 𝝍+ 𝟐
𝝍=𝟎
𝒉

This is the time independent form of


Schrödinger equation.
Putting (𝒉/𝟐𝝅) = ℏ, 𝒉 = 𝟐𝝅ℏ; and 𝒉𝟐 =
𝟒𝝅𝟐 ℏ𝟐, the Schrödinger equation can be
written as

𝟐
𝟐𝒎
𝛁 𝝍 + 𝟐 (𝑬 − 𝑽)𝝍 = 𝟎
ℏ

For a free particle, the potential energy,


𝑽 = 𝟎.
Hence the Schrödinger wave equation
for a free particle can be expressed as

𝟐𝒎𝑬
𝛁𝟐𝝍 + 𝟐
𝝍=𝟎
ℏ

Note:
For one dimensional motion, i.e.,
the motion of a particle along the 𝑿-
axis, the time independent Schrödinger
equation may be written as,

𝒅𝟐 𝝍 𝟐𝒎
𝟐
+ 𝟐 [𝑬 − 𝑽]𝝍 = 𝟎
𝒅𝒙 ℏ

For a free particle,

𝒅𝟐 𝝍 𝟐𝒎
𝟐
+ ( 𝟐 ) 𝑬𝝍 = 𝟎
𝒅𝒙 ℏ

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