Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr.

Sajal Chandra Mazumdar

Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

PHASE AND GROUP VELOCITIES

de Broglie wave velocity

If we call the de Broglie wave velocity vp, we can apply the usual formula to find vp. The
ℎ
wavelength is simply the de Broglie wavelength = . To find the frequency, we equate
the quantum expression = ℎ with the relativistic formula for total energy E = mc2 to obtain

ℎ =

=
ℎ
The de Broglie wave velocity is therefore

ℎ
= = =
ℎ

Because the particle velocity must be less than the velocity of light c, the de Broglie waves
always travel faster than light.

A way to mathematically describe a wave group is in terms of a superposition of individual

waves of different wavelengths whose interference with one another results in the variation in
amplitude that defines the group shape (Fig.3.3). If the velocities of the waves are the same, the
velocity with which the wave group travels is the common phase velocity. However, if the phase
velocity varies with wavelength, the different individual waves do not proceed together. This
situation is called dispersion. As a result the wave group has a velocity different from the phase
velocities of the waves that make it up. This is the case with de Broglie waves.

Let us suppose that the wave group arises from the combination of two waves that have the same
amplitude A but differ by an amount Δ in angular frequency and an amount Δ in wave
number. We may represent the original waves by the formulas
Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr. Sajal Chandra Mazumdar
Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

= cos ( − )
= cos [( + Δ ) − ( + Δ ) ]

The resultant displacement y at any time t and any position x is the sum of y1 and y2. With the
help of the identity

1 1
cos + cos = 2cos ( + )cos ( − )
2 2
and the relation

cos (− ) = cos

we find that = +

1 1
= 2 cos [(2 + Δ ) − (2 + Δ ) ]cos (Δ −Δ )
2 2
Since Δ and Δ are small compared with and k respectively,

2 +Δ ≈2

2 +Δ ≈2

and so
Δ Δ
Beats = 2 cos ( − )cos − ………………..(3.10)

Equation (3.10) represents a wave of angular frequency and wave number k that has
Δ Δ
superimposed upon it a modulation of angular frequency and of wave number .

The effect of the modulation is to produce successive wave groups, as in Fig. 3.4. The phase
velocity is

= [ =2 , = = = ]

and the velocity of the wave groups is

Δ
=
Δ
When ω and k have continuous spreads instead of the two values, the group velocity is instead
given by

=
Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr. Sajal Chandra Mazumdar
Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

Depending on how phase velocity varies with wave number in a particular situation, the group
velocity may be less or greater than the phase velocities of its member waves. If the phase
velocity is the same for all wavelengths, as is true for light waves in empty space, the group and
phase velocities are the same.

The angular frequency and wave number of the de Broglie waves associated with a body of mass
m moving with the velocity are

2
=2 =
ℎ
2
=
ℎ 1− /

2 2
= =
ℎ
2
=
ℎ 1− /

Both and k are functions of the body’s velocity. The group velocity of the de Broglie
waves associated with the body is

/
= =
/

Now = ) /
ℎ( /

2
= /
ℎ(1 − / )

and so the group velocity turns out to be

The de Broglie wave group associated with a moving body travels with the same velocity as the
body.

The phase velocity of de Broglie waves is, as we found earlier,

= =
Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr. Sajal Chandra Mazumdar
Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

This exceeds both the velocity of the body and the velocity of light c, since v˂c. However,
has no physical significance because the motion of the wave group, not the motion of the
individual waves that make up the group, corresponds to the motion of the body, and < as it
should be. The fact that > for de Broglie waves therefore does not violate special relativity.

UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE 1

It is impossible to know both the exact position and exact momentum of an object at the same
time.

This principle, which was discovered by Werner Heisenberg in 1927, is one of the most
significant of physical laws. A moving body corresponds to a single wave group, not a series of
Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr. Sajal Chandra Mazumdar
Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

them, but a single wave group can also be thought of in terms of the superposition of trains of
harmonic waves. However, an infinite number of wave trains with different frequencies, wave
numbers, and amplitudes is required for an isolated group of arbitrary shape, as in Fig. 3.13. At a
certain time t, the wave group Ψ( ) can be represented by the Fourier integral
∞
Ψ( ) = ( )cos

where the function g(k) describes how the amplitudes of the waves that contribute to Ψ( ) vary
with wave number k. This function is called the Fourier transform of Ψ( ), and it specifies the
wave group just as completely as Ψ( ) does. Figure 3.14 contains graphs of the Fourier
transforms of a pulse and of a wave group. For comparison, the Fourier transform of an infinite
train of harmonic waves is also included. There is only a single wave number in this case, of
course.

Strictly speaking, the wave numbers needed to represent a wave group extend from k=0 to k=∞,
but for a group whose length Δx is finite, the waves whose amplitudes g(k) are appreciable have
wave numbers that lie within a finite interval Δk. As Fig. 3.14 indicates, the narrower the group,
the broader the range of wave numbers needed to describe it, and vice versa.
The relationship between the distance x and the wave-number spread k depends upon the shape
of the wave group and upon how x and k are defined. The minimum value of the product Δx Δk
occurs when the envelope of the group has the familiar bell shape of a Gaussian function. In this
case the Fourier transform happens to be a Gaussian function also. If Δx and Δk are taken as the
standard deviations of the respective functions Ψ( ) and g(k), then this minimum value is
ΔxΔk=1/2. Because wave groups in general do not have Gaussian forms, it is more realistic to
express the relationship between Δ and Δ as

1
Δ Δ ≥
2
Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr. Sajal Chandra Mazumdar
Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

The de Broglie wavelength of a particle of momentum p is = ℎ/ and the corresponding wave

number is
2 2
= =
ℎ
In terms of wave number the particle’s momentum is therefore

ℎ
=
2
Hence an uncertainty Δk in the wave number of the de Broglie waves associated with the particle
results in an uncertainty Δp in the particle’s momentum according to the formula

ℎΔ
Δ =
2

Since Δ Δ ≥ , Δ ≥ Δ

ℎ
Therefore, Δ Δ ≥

ħ
Or, Δ Δ ≥

This equation states that the product of the uncertainty Δx in the position of an object at some
instant and the uncertainty Δp in its momentum component in the x direction at the same instant
ħ
is equal to or greater than .
Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr. Sajal Chandra Mazumdar
Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

If we arrange matters so that Δx is small, corresponding to a narrow wave group, then Δp will be
large. If we reduce Δp in some way, a broad wave group is inevitable and Δx will be large. These
uncertainties are due not to inadequate apparatus but to the imprecise character in nature of the
quantities involved. Any instrumental or statistical uncertainties that arise during a measurement
only increase the product Δ Δ . Since we cannot know exactly both where a particle is right
now and what its momentum is, we cannot say anything definite about where it will be in the
future or how fast it will be moving then. We cannot know the future for sure because we cannot
know the present for sure. But our ignorance is not total: we can still say that the particle is more
likely to be in one place than another and that its momentum is more likely to have a certain
value than another.

UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE II

We might want to measure the position and momentum of an object at a certain moment. To do
so, we must touch it with something that will carry the required information back to us. That is,
we must poke it with a stick, shine light on it, or perform some similar act. The measurement
process itself thus requires that the object be interfered with in some way. If we consider such
interferences in detail, we are led to the same uncertainty principle as before even without taking
into account the wave nature of moving bodies.

Suppose we look at an electron using light of wavelength, as in Fig. 3.17. Each photon of this
light has the momentum h/λ. When one of these photons bounces off the electron (which must
happen if we are to “see” the electron), the electron’s original momentum will be changed. The
exact amount of the change p cannot be predicted, but it will be of the same order of magnitude
as the photon momentum h/λ. Hence
ℎ
Δ ≈ ……………………………………………..(i)
The longer the wavelength of the observing photon, the smaller the uncertainty in the electron’s
momentum. Because light is a wave phenomenon as well as a particle phenomenon, we cannot
expect to determine the electron’s location with perfect accuracy regardless of the instrument
Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr. Sajal Chandra Mazumdar
Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

used. A reasonable estimate of the minimum uncertainty in the measurement might be one
photon wavelength, so that

Δ ≥ ……………………………………………..(ii)

The shorter the wavelength, the smaller the uncertainty in location. However, if we use light of
short wavelength to increase the accuracy of the position measurement, there will be a
corresponding decrease in the accuracy of the momentum measurement because the higher
photon momentum will disturb the electron’s motion to a greater extent. Light of long
wavelength will give a more accurate momentum but a less accurate position.

Combining Eqs. (i) and (ii) gives

Δ Δ ≥ ℎ………………………………………..(iii)
ħ
This result is consistent with Δ Δ ≥ .

APPLYING THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE

Planck’s constant h is so small that the limitations imposed by the uncertainty principle are
significant only in the realm of the atom. On such a scale, however, this principle is of great help
ħ
in understanding many phenomena. It is worth keeping in mind that the lower limit of for
Δ Δ is rarely attained. More usually Δ Δ ≥ ħ, or even (as we just saw) Δ Δ ≥ ℎ

Example 3.7 A typical atomic nucleus is about 5.0×10-15 m in radius. Use the uncertainty
principle to place a lower limit on the energy an electron must have if it is to be part of a nucleus.

Solution
Letting Δ = 5.0 × 10 m we have

ħ 1.054 × 10 J ⋅ s
Δ ≥ ≥ ≥ 1.1 × 10 kg ⋅ m/s
2Δ (2)(5.0 × 10 m)

If this is the uncertainty in a nuclear electron’s momentum, the momentum p itself must be at
least comparable in magnitude. An electron with such a momentum has a kinetic energy KE
many times greater than its rest energy mc2. From Eq. =( ) + we see that we can
let KE=pc here to a sufficient degree of accuracy. Therefore

KE = ≥ (1.1 × 10 kg ⋅ m/s)(3.0 × 10 m/s) ≥ 3.3 × 10 J

Since 1 eV=1.6×10-19 J, the kinetic energy of an electron must exceed 20 MeV if it is to

be inside a nucleus. Experiments show that the electrons emitted by certain unstable nuclei never
have more than a small fraction of this energy, from which we conclude that nuclei cannot
Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr. Sajal Chandra Mazumdar
Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

contain electrons. The electron an unstable nucleus may emit comes into being at the moment the
nucleus decays.

Example 3.8 A hydrogen atom is 5.3×10-11 m in radius. Use the uncertainty principle to estimate
the minimum energy an electron can have in this atom.

Solution
Here we find that with Δ = 5.0 × 10 m.

ħ
Δ ≥ ≥ 9.9 × 10 kg ⋅ m/s
2Δ
An electron whose momentum is of this order of magnitude behaves like a classical particle, and
its kinetic energy is

(9.9 × 10 kg ⋅ m/s)
KE = ≥ ≥ 5.4 × 10 J ≥ 3.4eV
2 (2)(9.1 × 10 kg)

Uncertainty in Energy and Time

Another form of the uncertainty principle concerns energy and time. We might wish
to measure the energy E emitted during the time interval Δ in an atomic process. If
the energy is in the form of em waves, the limited time available restricts the accuracy
with which we can determine the frequency of the waves. Let us assume that the minimum
uncertainty in the number of waves we count in a wave group is one wave. Since the frequency
of the waves under study is equal to the number of them we count divided by the time interval,
the uncertainty in our frequency measurement is

1
Δ ≥
Δ
The corresponding energy uncertainty is

Δ = ℎΔ

and so Δ ≥ or Δ Δ ≥ ℎ
Δ

A more precise calculation based on the nature of wave groups changes this result to

ħ
Δ Δ ≥
2
This equation states that the product of the uncertainty ΔE in an energy measurement and the
uncertainty Δt in the time at which the measurement is made is equal to or greater than
Atomic and Molecular Physics (PHY-2201) Dr. Sajal Chandra Mazumdar
Chap-2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, CoU

ħ/2. This result can be derived in other ways as well and is a general one not limited to em
waves.

Examples: 3.6, 3.9 (Beiser, A.; Concepts of Modern Physics)