Solutions To Problems in Merzbacher Quantum Mechanics 3rd Ed-Reid-P59 PDF

Solutions to Problems in Merzbacher,
Quantum Mechanics, Third Edition

Homer Reid
November 20, 1999
Chapter 2
Problem 2.1
A one-dimensional initial wave packet with a mean wave number
k
x
and a Gaussian amplitude is given by
(x, 0) = C exp
_
x
2
4(x)
2
+ ik
x
x
_
.
Calculate the corresponding k
x
distribution and (x, t), assuming
free particle motion. Plot |(x, t)|
2
as a function of x for several
values of t, choosing x small enough to show that the wave packet
spreads in time, while it advances according to the classical laws.
Apply the results to calculate the eect of spreading in some typical
microscopic and macroscopic experiments.
The rst step is to compute the Fourier transform of (x, 0) to nd the
distribution of the wave packet in momentum space:
(k) = (2)
1/2
_

(x, 0)e
ikx
dx
= (2)
1/2
C
_

exp
_
x
2
4(x)
2
+ i(k
0
k)x
_
dx (1)
1
(I have dropped the x subscripts, and I write k
0
instead of k).
To proceed we need to complete the square in the exponent:
x
2
4(x)
2
+ i(k
0
k)x =
_
x
2
4(x)
2
i(k
0
k)x (k
0
k)
2
(x)
2
+ (k
0
k)
2
(x)
2
_
=
_
x
2(x)
i(k
0
k)x
_
2
(k
0
k)
2
(x)
2
=
1
4(x)
2
_
x 2i(k
0
k)(x)
2
2
(k
0
k)
2
(x)
2
(2)
Now we plug (??) into (??) to nd:
(k) = (2)
1/2
C exp[(k
0
k)
2
(x)
2
]
_

exp
_
1
4(x)
2
[x 2i(k
0
k)(x)
2
]
2
_
dx
In the integral we can make the shift x x 2i(k
0
k)(x)
2
and use the
standard formula
_
exp(ax
2
)dx = (/a)
1/2
. The result is
(k) =
2Cxexp
_
(k
0
k)
2
(x)
2
To put this into direct correspondence with the form of the wave packet in
conguration space, we can write
(k) =
2Cxexp
_
(k
0
k)
2
4(k)
2
_
where k = 1/(2x). This is the minimum possible k width attainable for
a wave packet with x width x, which is why the Gaussian wave packet is
sometimes referred to as a minimum uncertainty wave packet.
The next step is to compute (x, t) for t > 0. Since we are talking about
a free particle, we know that the momentum eigenfunctions are also energy
eigenfunctions, which makes their time evolution particularly simple to write
down. In the above work we have expressed the initial wave packet (x, 0)
as a linear combination of momentum eigenfunctions, i.e. as a sum of terms
exp(ikx), with the kth term weighted in the sum by the factor (k). The wave
packet at a later time t > 0 will be given by the same linear combination, but
now with the kth term multiplied by a phase factor exp[i(k)t] describing its
time evolution. In symbols we have
(x, t) =
_

(k)e
i[kx(k)t]
dk.
For a free particle the frequency and wave number are connected through
(k) =
hk
2
2m
.
2
Using our earlier expression for (k), we nd
(x, t) =
2Cx
_

exp
_
(k
0
k)
2
(x)
2
+ ikx i
hk
2
2m
t
_
dk. (3)
Again we complete the square in the exponent:
(k
0
k)
2
(x)
2
+ ikx i
hk
2
2m
t =
_
[(x)
2
+
i h
2m
t]k
2
[2k
0
(x)
2
+ ix]k + k
2
0
(x)
2
_
=
_
2
k
2
k +
_
=
2
_
k
2
2
k +

2
4
4

2
4
4
_
=
2
[k

2
2
]
2
+

2
4
2

where we have dened some shorthand:
2
= (x)
2
+
i h
2m
t = 2k
0
(x)
2
+ ix = k
2
0
(x)
2
.
Using this in (??) we nd:
(x, t) =
2Cxexp
_

2
4
2

_ _

exp
_
2
(k

2
2
)
2
_
dk.
The integral evaluates to
1/2
/. We have
(x, t) =

2Cx
_
1
_
exp
_

2
4
2

_
=

2C
_
(x)
2
(x)
2
+
i h
2m
t
_
1/2
e
k
2
0
(x)
2
exp
_
(ix + 2k
0
(x)
2
)
2
4[(x)
2
+
i h
2m
t]
_
This is pretty ugly, but it does display the relevant features. The important
point is that term i ht/2m adds to the initial uncertainty (x)
2
, so that the
wave packet spreads out with time.
In the gure, Ive plotted this function for a few values of t, with the follow-
ing parameters: m=940 Mev (corresponding to a proton or neutron), x=3
A,
k
0
=0.8

A
1
. This value of k
0
corresponds, for a neutron, to a velocity of about
5 10
4
m/s; and note that, sure enough, the center of the wave packet travels
about 5 nm in 100 fs. The time scale of the spread of this wave packet is 100
fs.
3
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
-1e-08 -5e-09 0 5e-09 1e-08
W
a
v
e
f
u
n
c
t
i
o
n

(
a
r
b
i
t
r
a
r
y

u
n
i
t
s
)
Distance (meters)
Gaussian wave packet example
t=0 s
t=30 fs
t=70 fs
t=100 fs
4
Problem 2.2
Express the spreading Gaussian wave function (x, t) obtained
in Problem 1 in the form (x, t) = exp[iS(x, t)/ h]. Identify the
function S(x, t) and show that it satises the quantum mechanical
Hamilton-Jacobi equation.
In the last problem we found
(x, t) =

2C
_
x
_
exp
_

2
4
2

_
= exp
_
ln
_
2C
x
_
+

2
4
2

_
(1)
where weve again used the shorthand we dened earlier:
2
= (x)
2
+
i h
2m
t = 2k
0
(x)
2
+ ix = k
2
0
(x)
2
.
From (??) we can identify (neglecting an unimportant additive constant):
S(x, t) =
h
i
_
ln +

2
4
2
_
.
Things are actually easier if we dene =
2
. Then
= (x)
2
+
i h
2m
t S(x, t) =
h
i
_
1
2
ln +

2
4
_
Now computing partial derivatives:
S
t
=
h
i
_
1
2

2
4
2
_

t
=
h
2
2m
_
1
2
+

2
4
2
_
(2)
S
x
=
h
i
x
=
h
2
(3)
2
S
x
2
=
i h
2
(4)
The quantum-mechanical Hamilton-Jacobi equation for a free particle is
S
t
+
1
2m
_
S
x
_
2
i h
2m
2
S
x
2
= 0
5
Inserting (??), (??), and (??) into this equation, we nd
h
2
4m

h
2
2
8m
2
+
h
2
2
8m
2
+
h
2
4m
= 0
so, sure enough, the equation is satised.
Problem 2.3
Consider a wave function that initially is the superposition of two
well-separated narrow wave packets:
1
(x, 0) +
2
(x, 0)
chosen so that the absolute value of the overlap integral
(0) =
_
+
1
(x)
2
(x)dx
is very small. As time evolves, the wave packets move and spread.
Will |(t)| increase in time, as the wave packets overlap? Justify
your answer.
It seems to me that the answer to this problem depends entirely on the
specics of the particular problem.
One could well imagine a situation in which the overlap integral would not
increase with time. Consider, for example, the neutron wave packets plotted
in the gure from problem 2.1 If one of those wave packets were centered in
Chile and another in China, the overlap integral would be tiny, since the wave
packets only have appreciable value within a few angstroms of their centers.
Furthermore, even if the neutrons are initially moving toward each other, their
wave packets spread out on a time scale of 100 fs, long before their centers
ever come close to each other.
On the other hand, if the two neutron wave packets were each centered, say,
20 angstroms apart, then they would certainly overlap a little before collapsing
entirely.
Problem 2.4
A high resolution neutron interferometer narrows the energy spread
of thermal neutrons of 20 meV kinetic energy to a wavelength dis-
persion level of /= 10
9
. Estimate the length of the wave
packets in the direction of motion. Over what length of time will
the wave packets spread appreciably?
6
First lets compute the average momentum of the neutrons.
p
0
= [ 2mE ]
1/2
[ 2 (940Mev c
2
) (20mev) ]
1/2
= 6.1 kev / c
Were given the fractional wavelength dispersion level; what does this tell us
about the momentum dispersion level?
p =
2 h
dp =
2 h
2
d
so
dp
p
= 10
9
so the momentum uncertainty is
p = p
0
10
9
= 6.1 10
6
ev.
This implies a position uncertainty of
x
h
p
=
6.6 10
16
ev s
6.1 10
6
ev / c
c 10
10
s
30 cm.
This is HUGE! So the point is, if we know with this precision how quickly
our thermal neutrons are moving, we have only the most rough indication of
where in the room they might be.
To estimate the time scale of spreading of the wave packets, we can imagine
that they are Gaussian packets. In this case we start to get appreciable spreading
when
h
2m
t (x)
2
or
t 2m(x)
2
/ h
2 9.4 10
8
ev (0.3 m)
2
c
2
6.6 10
16
ev s
32 ks 10 hours.
7
Homer Reid
March 8, 1999
Chapter 3
Problem 3.1
If the state (r) is a superposition,
(r) = c
1
1
(r) + c
2
2
(r)
where
1
(r) and
2
(r) are related to one another by time reversal,
show that the probability current density can be expressed without
an interference term involving
1
and
2
.
I found this to be a pretty cool problem! First of all, we have the probability
conservation equation:
d
dt
=

J.
To show that

J contains no cross terms, it suces to show that its divergence
has no cross terms, and to show this it suces (by probability conservation) to
show that d/dt has no cross terms. We have
=
= [c
1
+ c
2
] [c
1
1
+ c
2
2
]
= |c
1
||
1
| + |c
2
||
2
| + c
1
c
2
+ c
1
c
2
2
(1)
1
Problem 3.2
For a free particle in one dimension, calculate the variance at time
t, (x)
2
t

(x x
t
)
2
_
t
=

x
2
_
t
x
2
t
without explicit use of the
wave function by applying (3.44) repeatedly. Show that
(x)
2
t
= (x)
2
0
+
2
m
_
1
2
xp
x
+ p
x
x
0
x
0
p
x
_
t +
(p
x
)
2
m
2
t
2
and
(p
x
)
2
t
= (p
x
)
2
0
= (p
x
).
2
I nd it easiest to use a slightly dierent notation: w(t) (x)
2
t
. (The w
reminds me of width.) Then
w(t) = w(0) + t
dw
dt
t=0
+
1
2
t
2
d
2
w
dt
2
t=0
+ (2)
We have
dw
dt
=
d
dt
_
x
2
_
x
2
_
=
d
dt
x
2
_
2 x
d
dt
x (3)
d
2
w
dt
2
=
d
2
dt
2
x
2
_
2
_
d
dt
x
_
2
2 x
d
2
dt
2
x (4)
We need to compute the time derivatives of x and

x
2
_
. The relevant
equation is
d
dt
F =
1
i h
FH HF +
_
F
t
_
for any operator F. For a free particle, the Hamiltonian is H = p
2
/2m, and
the all-important commutation relation is px = xp i h. We can use this to
calculate the time derivatives:
d
dt
x =
1
i h
[x, H]
=
1
2im h
xp
2
p
2
x
_
=
1
2im h
xp
2
p(xp i h)
_
=
1
2im h
xp
2
pxp + i hp
_
2
=
1
2im h
xp
2
(xp i h)p + i hp
_
=
1
2im h
2i hp
=
p
m
(5)
d
2
dt
2
x =
1
m
d
dt
p = 0 (6)
d
dt
x
2
_
=
1
i h
[x
2
, H]
_
=
1
2im h
x
2
p
2
p
2
x
2
_
=
1
2im h
x
2
p
2
p(xp i h)x
_
=
1
2im h
x
2
p
2
pxpx + i hpx
_
=
1
2im h
x
2
p
2
(xp i h)
2
+ i h(xp i h)
_
=
1
2im h
x
2
p
2
xpxp + 2i hxp + h
2
+ h
2
+ i hxp
_
=
1
2im h
x
2
p
2
x(xp i h)p + 3i hxp + 2 h
2
_
=
1
2im h
2 h
2
+ 4i hxp
_
=
i h
m
+
2
m
xp (7)
d
2
dt
2
x
2
_
=
2
m
d
dt
xp
=
2
i hm
[xp, H]
=
1
i hm
2
xp
3
p
2
xp
_
=
1
i hm
2
xp
3
p(xp i h)p
_
=
1
i hm
2
xp
3
pxp
2
+ i hp
2
_
=
1
i hm
2
xp
3
(xp i h)p
2
+ i hp
2
_
=
1
i hm
2
2i hp
2
_
=
2
m
2
p
2
_
(8)
d
3
dt
3
x
2
_
=
2
i hm
2
[p
2
, H]
_
= 0 (9)
Now that weve computed all time derivatives of x and

x
2
_
, its time to
3
plug them into (3) and (4) to compute the time derivatives of w.
dw
dt
=
d
dt
x
2
_
2 x
d
dt
x
=
i h
m
+
2
m
xp
2
m
x p
=
2
m
_
i h
2
+ xp
_

2
m
x p
=
2
m
_
px xp
2
+ xp
_

2
m
x p
=
2
m
_
px + xp
2
_

2
m
x p (10)
d
2
w
dt
2
=
d
2
dt
2
x
2
_
2
_
d
dt
x
_
2
2 x
d
2
dt
2
x
=
2
m
2
p
2
_

2
m
2
p
2
=
2
m
2
(p)
2
(11)
Finally, we plug these into the original equation (2) to nd
w(t) = w(0) +
2
m
_
1
2
px + xp x p
_
t +
(p)
2
m
2
t.
2
The other portion of this problem, the constancy of (p)
2
, is trivial, since
(p)
2
contains expectation values of p and p
2
, which both commute with H.
4
Problem 3.3
Consider a linear harmonic oscillator with Hamiltonian
H = T + V =
p
2
2m
+
1
2
m
2
x
2
.
(a) Derive the equation of motion for the expectation value x
t
,
and show that it oscillates, similarly to the classical oscillator,
as
x
t
= x
0
cos t +
p
0
m
sint.
(b) Derive a second-order dierential equation of motion for the
expectation value T V
t
by repeated application of (3.44)
and use of the virial theorem. Integrate this equation and,
remembering conservation of energy, calculate

x
2
_
t
.
(c) Show that
(x)
2
t

x
2
_
t
x
2
t
= (x)
2
0
cos
2
t +
(p)
2
0
m
2
2
sin
2
t
+
_
1
2
xp + px
0
x
0
p
0
_
sin 2t
m
Verify that this reduces to the result of Problem 2 in the limit
0.
(d) Work out the corresponding formula for the variance (p)
2
t
.
(a) Again I like to use slightly dierent notation: e(t) = x
t
. Then
d
dt
e(t) =
1
i h
xH Hx
=
1
2i hm
xp
2
p
2
x
_
=
1
2i hm
xp
2
p(xp i h)
_
=
1
2i hm
xp
2
(xp i h)p + i hp
_
=
1
2i hm
2i hp
=
p
m
.
d
2
dt
2
e(t) =
d
dt
p
m
5
=
1
i hm
pH Hp
=

2
2i h
px
2
x
2
p
_
=

2
2i h
(xp i h)x x
2
p
_
=

2
2i h
x(xp i h) i hx x
2
p
_
=

2
2i h
2i hx
=
2
x .
So we have
d
2
dt
2
e(t) =
2
e(t)
with general solution e(t) = Acos t +Bsin t. The coecients are determined
by the boundary conditions:
e(0) = x
0
A = x
0
e
(0) =
p
0
m
B =
p
0
m
.
(b) Lets dene v(t) = T V
t
. Then
d
dt
v(t) =
1
i h
(T V )H H(T V )
=
1
i h
(T V )(T + V ) (T + V )(T V )
=
2
i h
TV V T
=

2
2i h
p
2
x
2
x
2
p
2
_
.
We already worked out this commutator in Problem 2:
p
2
x
2
x
2
p
2
_
=
4i hxp + 2 h
2
_
so
d
dt
v(t) = 2
2
xp + i h
2
.
= 2
2
xp +
2
xp px
=
2
xp + px (12)
Next,
d
2
dt
2
v(t) =
2
2
i h
xpH Hxp
=
2
2
i h
_
1
2m
xp
3
p
2
xp
_
+
m
2
2
xpx
2
x
3
p
_
_
(13)
6
The bracketed expressions are
xp
3
p
2
xp
_
=

xp
3
p(xp i h)p
_
=

xp
3
(xp i h)p
2
+ i hp
2
_
=

2i hp
2
_
xpx
2
x
3
p
_
=

x(xp i h)x x
3
p
_
=

x
2
(xp i h) i hx
2
x
3
p
_
=

2i hx
2
_
and plugging these back into (13) gives
d
2
dt
2
v(t) = = 4
2
_
p
2
_
m

m
2
2
x
2
_
_
= 4
2
v(t)
with solution
v(t) = Acos 2t + B sin 2t. (14)
Evaluating at t = 0 gives
A = T
0
V
0
.
Also, we can use (12) evaluated at t = 0 to determine B:
2
xp + px
0
+ i h
2
= 2B
so
B =
xp + px
0
2
.
The next task is to compute

x
2
_
t
:
x
2
_
t
=
2
m
2
V
t
=
1
m
2
H (T V )
t
=
1
m
2
[H
t
v(t)] .
Since H does not depend explicitly on time, H is constant in time. For v(t)
we can use (14):
x
2
_
t
=
1
m
2
_
T
0
+ V
0
[T
0
V
0
] cos 2t +
xp + px
0
2
sin 2t
_
=
1
m
2
_
2 T
0
sin
2
t + 2 V
0
cos
2
t +
xp + px
0
2
sin 2t
_
=
p
2
_
0
m
2
2
sin
2
t +

x
2
_
0
cos
2
t +
1
2
xp + px
0
sin 2t
m
. (15)
7
(c) Earlier we found that
x
t
= x
0
cos t +
p
0
m
sin t
x
2
t
= x
2
0
cos
2
t +
p
2
0
m
2
2
sin
2
t + x
0
p
0
sin 2t.
Subtracting from (15) gives
(x)
2
t
=

x
2
_
x
2
=
_
x
2
_
0
x
2
0
_
cos
2
t
+
1
m
2
2
_
p
2
_
0
p
2
0
_
+
_
1
2
xp + px
0
x
0
p
0
_
sin 2t
= (x)
2
0
cos
2
t +
(p)
2
0
m
2
2
sin
2
t +
_
1
2
xp + px
0
x
0
p
0
_
sin 2t
m
.
As 0, cos
2
t 1, (sin
2
t/
2
) 1, and (sin 2t/) 2, as needed
to ensure matchup with the result of Problem 2.
Problem 3.4
Prove that the probability density and the probability current den-
sity at position r
0
can be expressed in terms of the operators r and
p as expectation values of the operators
(r
0
) (r r
0
) j(r
0
)
1
2m
[p(r r
0
) + (r r
0
)p] .
Derive expressions for these densities in the momentum represen-
tation.
The rst one is trivial:
(r r
0
) =
_

(r)(r r
0
)(r)dr =
(r
0
)(r
0
) = (r
0
).
For the second one,
1
2m
p(r r
0
) + (r r
0
)p =
i h
2m
_
[
(r r
0
) +
(r r
0
)] dr
The gradient operator in the rst term operates on everything to its right:
=
i h
2m
_
[
(r r
0
) + 2(r r
0
)
] dr.
8
Here we can use the identity
_
f(x)
(x a)dx = f
(a) :
=
i h
2m
|(
) + 2
|
r=r0
=
i h
2m
|
|
r=r0
= j(r
0
).
Problem 3.5
For a system described by the wave function (r
), the Wigner
distribution function is dened as
W(r
, p
) =
1
(2 h)
3
exp(ip
/ h)
_
r
2
_
_
r
+
r
2
_
dr
.
(a) Show that W(r
, p
) is a real-valued function, dened over the

six-dimensional phase space (r
, p
).
(b) Prove that
_
W(r
, p
)dp
= |(r
)|
2
and that the expectation value of a function of the operator
r in a normalized state is
f(r) =
_ _
f(r
)W(r
, p
)dr
dp
.
(c) Show that the Wigner distribution function is normalized as
_
W(r
, p
)dr
dp
= 1.
(d) Show that the probability density (r
0
) at position r
0
is ob-
tained from the Wigner distribution function with
(r
0
) f(r) = (r r
0
).
(a)
9
Homer Reid
June 24, 2000
Chapter 5
Problem 5.1
Calculate the matrix elements of p
2
x
with respect to the energy eigenfunctions of the
harmonic oscillator and write down the rst few rows and columns of the matrix.
Can the same result be obtained directly by matrix algebra from a knowledge of
the matrix elements of p
x
?
For the harmonic oscillator, we have
H =
1
2m
p
2
x
+
1
2
m
2
x
2
so
p
2
x
= 2mH m
2
2
x
2
and
<
n
|p
2
x
|
k
>= 2m h(n +
1
2
)
nk
m
2
2
<
n
|x
2
|
k
> . (1)
The nth eigenfunction is
(x) =
_
1
2
n
n!
_
1/2 _
m
h
_
1/4
exp(
m
2 h
x
2
)H
n
(
_
m
h
x).
The matrix element of x
2
is then
<
n
|x
2
|
k
>=
_
1
2
n+k
n!k!
_
1/2 _
m
h
_
1/2
_

x
2
exp(
m
h
x
2
)H
n
(
_
m
h
x)H
k
(
_
m
h
x) dx.
1
Homer Reids Solutions to Merzbacher Problems: Chapter 5 2
The obvious substitution is u = (m/ h)x, with which we obtain
<
n
|x
2
|
k
>=
_
1
2
n+k
n!k!
_
1/2
_
h
m
__

u
2
e
u
2
H
n
(u)H
k
(u) du. (2)
The integral is what Merzbacher calls I
nkp
with p = 2. The useful formula is
n,k,p
I
nkp
s
n
t
k
(2)
p
n! k! p!
=

e
2
+2(s+t)+2st
.
=

_
1 +
2
+
1
2
4
+
__
1 + 2(s +t) +
1
2
(2)
2
(s +t)
2
+
__
1 + (2st) +
1
2
(2st)
2
+
_
(3)
There are two ways to get a
2
term out of this. One way is to take the
2
term
from the rst series and the 1 from the second series, together with any term
from the last series. The second way is to take the 1 from the rst series and
the
2
term from the second series, along with any term from the last series.
Writing down only terms obtainable in this way, we have
= +

2
_
1 + 2(s +t)
2
_
_
1 + (2st) +
1
2
(2st)
2
+
_
+
= +

2
_
1 + 2s
2
+ 2t
2
+ 4st
_

j=0
1
j!
(2st)
j
+
= +

j=0
_
2
j
j!
s
j
t
j
+
2
j+1
j!
s
j+2
t
j
+
2
j+1
j!
s
j
t
j+2
+
2
j+2
j!
s
j+1
t
j+1
_
+
Comparing termwise with (3), we can read o
I
nk2
=
_
_
_
(n + 2)!2
n
, n = k 2
n!2
n1
(1 + 2n) , n = k
0 , otherwise.
Plugging this into (2), we have
<
n+2
|x
2
|
n
> =
1
2
[(n + 2)(n + 1)]
1/2
_
h
m
_
<
n
|x
2
|
n
> =
1
2
(2n + 1)
_
h
m
_
.
Finally, from (1),
<
n+2
|p
2
|
n
> =
1
2
[(n + 2)(n + 1)]
1/2
(m h)
<
n
|x
2
|
n
> =
1
2
(2n + 1)(m h).
I nd it kind of confusing that the matrix element for p
2
comes out negative
in the rst case. It would be absurd for the expectation value (i.e., diagonal
matrix element) of the square of an observable operator to come out negative.
In this case it is less absurd since theres no classical interpretation of the o-
diagonal matrix elements of an operator, but its still weird.
However, in another sense it seems inescapable that p
2
should have a negative
o-diagonal matrix element here, because the o-diagonal matrix elements of H
must vanish in the energy eigenfunction basis, but x
2
has a nonvanishing matrix
element, and H is just a sum of x
2
and p
2
terms, so p
2
must have a negative
matrix element to cancel out the positive matrix element of x
2
.
Problem 5.2
Calculate the expectation values of the potential and kinetic energies in any station-
ary state of the harmonic oscillator. Compare with the results of the virial theorem.
The potential energy operator is U = m
2
x
2
/2. We found the expectation
values of x
2
in the last problem, so
U =
1
2
m
2
x
2
_
=
h
2
(n +
1
2
)
which is just half the energy expectation value. The kinetic energy expectation
value must of course make up the dierence, so we have T = U.
On the other hand, the virial theorem is supposed to be saying
2 T =
_
x
d
dx
V (x)
_
.
In this case,
d
dx
V (x) = m
2
x,
so the virial theorem says that
T =
_
1
2
m
2
x
2
_
= U
in accord with what we concluded earlier.
Problem 5.3
Calculate the expectation value of x
4
for the nth energy eigenstate of the harmonic
oscillator.
x
4
n
_
=
1
n! 2
n
_
m
h
_
1/2
_

x
4
exp(
m
h
x
2
)H
2
n
(
_
m
h
x) dx
=
1
n! 2
n
_
h
m
_
2
_

u
4
e
u
2
H
2
n
(u) du (4)
For the integral we want to use (3) again, but this time well need to write
out the expansion a little further than before.
n,k,p
I
nkp
s
n
t
k
(2)
p
n! k! p!
=

e
2
+2(s+t)+2st
. (5)
=

_
1 +
2
+
1
2
4
+
__
1 + +
1
2
(2)
2
(s +t)
2
+ +
1
4!
(2)
4
(s +t)
4
+
_

j=0
(2st)
j
j!
=

_
1 +
2
+
1
2
4
+
_
_
1 + + 4
2
st + + 4
4
(st)
2
+
_

j=0
(2st)
j
j!
= +

j=0
(
4
)(st)
j
_
2
j1
j!
+ 4
2
j1
(j 1)!
+ 4
2
j2
(j 2)!
_
+
= +

j=0
(
4
)(st)
j
2
j
j!
_
1
2
+ 2j +j(j 1)
_
= +

j=0
(
4
)(st)
j
2
j
j!
_
1
2
+j +j
2
_
In the rst line, I only wrote out terms that can be combined to give a factor of
4
. In the second line, I further limited it to terms that also contain the same
number of powers of s as t. Equating powers in (5),
I
nn4
=
3
2
2
n
n!
(
1
2
+n +n
2
),
so (4) is
x
4
n
_
=
3
2
_
h
m
_
2
(
1
2
+n +n
2
).
Problem 5.4
For the energy eigenstates with n=0, 1, and 2, compute the probability that the
coordinate of a linear harmonic oscillator in its ground state has a value greater
than the amplitude of the classical oscillator of the same energy.
The classical amplitude is A =
_
(2E)/(m
2
). The probability of nding
the particle with coordinate greater than this is
P(|x| > A) =
_
A
2
n
(x) dx +
_

A
2
n
(x) dx
= 2
_

A
2
n
(x) dx
=
2
n! 2
n
_
m
h
_
1/2
_

A
exp(
m
h
x
2
)H
2
n
(
_
m
h
x) dx
=
2
n! 2
n
2E/ h
e
u
2
H
2
n
(u) du
=
1
n! 2
n1
2n+1
e
u
2
H
2
n
(u) du
In going from the rst line to the second we invoked the fact that
n
has either
even or odd parity, so
2
n
has even parity. In going from the second to last line
to the last line, we noted that the energy of the nth eigenstate is h(n + 1/2).
In particular,
P
n=0
(|x| > A) =
1
_

1
e
u
2
du
=
1
2
_
_

0
e
p
2
/2
dp
_

2
0
e
p
2
/2
dp
_
=
1
2
__
2 erf(
2)
_
=
1
2
erf(
2) 0.31
Problem 5.5
Show that if an ensemble of linear harmonic oscillators is in thermal equilibrium,
governed by the Boltzmann distribution, the probability per unit length of nding
a particle with displacement x is a Gaussian distribution. Plot the width of the
distribution as a function of temperature. Check the results in the classical and
low-temperature limits. [Hint: Equation (5.43) may be used.]
Suppose we denote the number of oscillators in the nth energy state by N
n
.
If the ensemble is in thermal equilibrium, the ratio of the number of oscillators
in the n
th state to the number of oscillators in the nth state is

N
n
N
n
= e
(n
n) h/kT
.
In particular, for any n,
N
n
= N
0
e
n h/kT
.
The probability of nding a particle between x and dx is
P(x)dx =
n=0
C
n
|
n
(x)|
2
dx
= C
0
_
m
h
_
1/2
exp(
m
h
x
2
)
n=0
e
n h/kT
n! 2
n
H
2
n
(
_
m
h
x)dx
This can be summed using the Mehler formula with t = exp( h/kT) :
P(x) = C
0
_
m
h
_
1/2
exp(
m
h
x
2
)
_
1
1 t
2
_
exp
__
2t
1 +t
_
m
h
x
2
_
= C
0
_
m
h
_
1/2
_
1
1 t
2
_
exp
_
_
1 t
1 +t
_
m
h
x
2
_
This is a Gaussian distribution with variance
2
=
h
2m
_
1 +t
1 t
_
=
h
2m
_
1 +e
h/kT
1 e
h/kT
_
=
h
2m
coth
_
h
2kT
_
Homer Reid
June 24, 2000
Chapter 6
Problem 6.1
Obtain the transmission coecient for a rectangular potential barrier of width 2a
if the energy exceeds the height V
0
of the barrier. Plot the transmission coecient
as a function E/V
0
(up to E/V
0
= 3), choosing (2ma
2
V
0
)
1/2
= (3/2).
In the text, Merzbacher treats this problem for the case where the particles
energy is less than the potential barrier. He obtains the result
M
11
=
_
cosh2a +
i
2
sinh 2a
_
e
2ika
(1)
where
=
_
2m(V
0
E)
2
and
=

k

k
. (2)
We can re-use the result (1) for the case where the energy is greater than
the potential barrier. To do this we note that becomes imaginary in this case,
and we write
= i = i
_
2m(E V
0
)
2
so that (2) becomes
=
i
k

k
i
= i
_
k
+
k
_
i
1
Plugging into (1) and noting that coshix = cos x, sinhix = i sinx we have
M
11
=
_
cos 2a
i
2
sin 2a
_
e
2ika
.
and
|M
11
| =
_
cos
2
2a +

2
4
sin
2
a
_
1/2
=
_
1 +
_
2
4
1
_
sin
2
a
_
1/2
=
_
1 +
_
4
+k
4
4
2
k
2

1
2
_
sin
2
a
_
1/2
=
_
1 +
_
(
2
k
2
)
2
4
2
k
2
_
sin
2
a
_
1/2
=
_
1 +
_
V
2
0
4E(E V
0
)
_
sin
2
a
_
1/2
=
_
1 +
_
1
4( 1)
_
sin
2
a
_
1/2
=
_
4( 1) + sin
2
a
4( 1)
_
1/2
where = E/V
0
.
We have
a =
_
2m
h
2
(E V
0
)
_
1/2
a
=
_
2mV
0
a
2
h
2
_
1/2
( 1)
1/2
=
3
2
( 1)
1/2
so the transmission coecient is
T =
1
|M
11
|
2
=
_
4( 1)
4( 1) + sin
2
_
3
2
( 1)
1/2
_
This is plotted in Figure 1.
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
T
r
a
n
s
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

C
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t
E/V0
Figure 1: Transmission coecient versus E/V
0
for Problem 6.1.
Problem 6.2
Consider a potential V = 0 for x > a, V = V
0
for a x 0, and V = +
for x < 0. Show that for x > a the positive energy solutions of the Schr odinger
equation have the form
e
i(kx+2)
e
ikx
Calculate the scattering coecient |1 e
2i
|
2
and show that it exhibits maxima
(resonances) at certain discrete energies if the potential is suciently deep and
broad.
We have
(x) =
_
_
0, x 0
Ae
ik1x
+Be
ik1x
, 0 x a
Ce
ik2x
+De
ik2x
, a x
with
k
1
=
_
2m(E +V
0
)
2
k
2
=
_
2mE
2
.
Applying the requirement that be continuous at x = 0, we see we must take
A = B, so (x) = sin k
1
x for 0 x a. The other standard requirement,
that the derivative of also be continuous, does not hold at x = 0 because the
potential is innite there. Hence is undetermined as yet. Eventually, we could
apply the normalization condition on to nd if we wanted to.
Next applying continutity of and its derivative at x = a, we obtain
sin k
1
a = Ce
ik2a
+De
ik
2
a
k
1
cos k
1
a = ik
2
[Ce
ik2a
De
ik
2
a
]
Combining these yields
C =
1
2i
e
ik2a
_
k
1
k
2
cos k
1
a +i sink
1
a
_
(3)
D =
1
2i
e
+ik2a
_
k
1
ik
2
cos k
1
a i sink
1
a
_
(4)
Its now convenient to write
k
1
k
2
cos k
1
a +i sink
1
a = e
i
(5)
where
2
=
_
k
1
k
2
_
2
cos
2
k
1
a + sin
2
k
1
a (6)
and
= tan
1
_
k
2
k
1
tank
1
a
_
so that contains magnitude information, while represents phase information.
Then we can rewrite (3) and (4) as
C =

2i
e
ik2a
e
i
D =
2i
e
+ik2a
e
i
Then the expression for the wavefunction to the left of x = a becomes
(x) = Ce
ik2x
+De
ik2x
(x > a)
=

2i
_
e
ik2(xa)
e
i
e
ik2(xa)
e
i
_
=

2i
e
i
_
e
ik2(xa)
e
2i
e
ik2(xa)
_
.
Using (5) and (6), the scattering coecient is
|1 e
2i
|
2
=
1
_
k1
k2
_
2
cos
2
k
1
a + 2i
k1
k2
cos k
1
a sin k
1
a sin
2
k
1
a
_
k1
k2
_
2
cos
2
k
1
a + sin
2
k
1
a
2
=
2 sink
1
a
_
sin k
1
a i
k1
k2
cos k
1
a
_
_
k1
k2
_
2
cos
2
k
1
a + sin
2
k
1
a
2
=
4 sin
2
k
1
a
_
k1
k2
_
2
cos
2
k
1
a + sin
2
k
1
a
(7)
We have
_
k
1
k
2
_
2
=
E +V
0
E
=
_
1 +
1
_
k
1
a =
_
2ma
2
(E +V
0
)
2
= ( + 1)
1/2
where = E/V
0
and = (2ma
2
V
0
/
2
)
1/2
in Merzbachers notation. Then the
scattering coecient (7) is
scattering coecient =
4 sin
2
[( + 1)
1/2
]
(1 +
1
)
2
cos
2
[( + 1)
1/2
] + sin
2
[( + 1)
1/2
]
In Figure 6.2 I have plotted this for = 25.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
S
c
a
t
t
e
r
i
n
g

c
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t
E/V0
Figure 2: Scattering coecient versus E/V
0
for Problem 6.2.
Problem 6.3
A particle of mass m moves in the one-dimensional double well potential
V (x) = g(x a) g(x +a).
If g > 0, obtain transcendental equations for the bound-state energy eigenvalues of
the system. Compute and plot the energy levels in units of
2
/ma
2
as a function of
the dimensionless parameter mag/
2
. Explain the features of the plot. In the limit
of large separation, 2a, between the wells, obtain a simple formula for the splitting
E between the ground state (even parity) energy level, E
+
, and the excited (odd
parity) energy level, E
.
In this problem, we can divide the x axis into three regions. In each region,
the wavefunction is just the solution to the free-particle Schr odinger equation,
but with energy E < 0 since were looking for bound states. Putting k =
_
2mE/
2
, we have
(x) =
_
_
_
Ae
kx
+Be
kx
, x a
Ce
kx
+De
kx
, a x a
Ee
kx
+Fe
kx
, a x.
Now, rst of all, the wavefunction cant blow up at innity, so B = E = 0.
Also, since the potential in this problem has mirror-reversal symmetry, the
wavefunction will have denite parity. Considering rst the even parity solution,
(x) =
_
_
_
Ae
kx
, x a
Bcosh(kx), a x a
Ae
kx
, a x.
(8)
Matching the value of the wavefunction at x = a gives
Ae
ka
= Bcosh(ka). (9)
Since the potential becomes innite at x = a, the normal derivative-continuity
condition doesnt hold there. Instead, we can write down the Schr odinger equa-
tion,
d
2
dx
2
(x) =
2m
2
V (x)(x)
2m
2
E(x),
then integrate from a to a + and take the limit as 0. This gives
d
dx
a+
a
=
2mg
2
(a). (10)
Applying this condition to the wavefunction (8) yields
kBsinh(ka) kAe
ka
=
2mg
2
Bcosh(ka).
Substituting from (9),
kBsinh(ka) kBcosh(ka) =
2mg
2
Bcosh(ka)
or
tanh(ka) =
2mg
2
k
1 =

ka
1
with = 2mag/
2
. This equation determines the energy eigenvalue of the even-
parity state, which will be the ground state. On the other hand, the odd parity
state looks like
(x) =
_
_
_
Ae
kx
, x a
Bsinh(kx), a x a
Ae
kx
, a x.
(11)
Matching values at x = a gives
Ae
ka
= Bsinh(ka)
and applying condition (10) gives
kBcosh(ka) kAe
ka
=
2mg
2
Bsinh(ka)
kBcosh(ka) +kBsinh(ka) =
2mg
2
Bsinh(ka)
coth(ka) =

ka
1
so this is the condition that determines the energy of the odd parity state.
In Figure (3) I have plotted tanh(ka), coth(ka), and /(ka) 1 for the case
= 3. As expected, the coth curve crosses the /(ka) 1 curve at a lower value
of ka than the tanh curve; that means that the energy eigenvalue for the odd
parity state is smaller in magnitude (less negative) than the even parity state.
Problem 6.4
Problem 3 provides a primitive model for a one-electron linear diatomic molecule
with interatomic distance 2a = |X|, if the potential energy of the molecule is
taken as E
(|X|), supplemented by a repulsive interaction g/|X| between the wells

(atoms). Show that, for a suciently small value of , the system (molecule)
is stable if the particle (electron) is in the even parity state. Sketch the total
potential energy of the system as a function of |X|.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
P
S
f
r
a
g
r
e
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t
s
tanh(ka)
coth(ka)
/(ka) 1
ka
Figure 3: Graphical determination of energy levels for Problem 6.3 with = 3.
Problem 6.5
If the potential in Problem 3 has g < 0 (double barrier), calculate the transmission
coecient and show that it exhibits resonances. (Note the analogy between the
system and the Fabry-Perot etalon in optics.)
Now were assuming that the energy E is positive, so
(x) =
_
_
Ae
ikx
+Be
ikx
x a
Ce
ikx
+De
ikx
a x a
Ee
ikx
+Fe
ikx
a x
(12)
with k =
_
2mE/
2
. Matching values at x = a, we have
Ae
ika
+Be
ika
= C
ika
+D
ika
(13)
Also, as before, we have the derivative condition
d
dx
x=a+
x=a
=
2mg
2
(a)
where g is now negative. Applying this to the wavefunction in (12), we have
ik[Ce
ika
De
ika
Ae
ika
+Be
ika
] =
2mg
2
[Ae
ika
+Be
ika
]. (14)
Combining (13) and (14) yields
C =
_
1 +

ika
_
A+

ika
e
2ka
B (15)
D =

ika
e
2ka
A+
_
1

ika
_
B (16)
with = mag/
2
as before.
Now, applying the matching conditions to the wavefunction at x = +a will
give two equations exactly like (13) and (14), but with the substitutions A C,
B D, C E, D F, and a a. Making these substitutions in (15) and
(16) we obtain
E =
_
1

ika
_
C

ika
e
2ka
D (17)
F = +

ika
e
2ka
C +
_
1 +

ika
_
D (18)
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
P
S
f
r
a
g
r
e
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t
s
ka
T
(
k
)
Figure 4: Transmission coecient in Problem 6.4 with = 15.
Combining equations (15) through (18), we have
E =
_
1 +
_

ika
_
2
(e
4ika
1)
_
A+ +
_
2
ka
_
1

ika
_
sin2ka
_
B
F =
_
2
ka
_
1 +

ika
_
sin 2ka
_
A+
_
1 +
_

ika
_
2
(e
4ika
1)
_
B
This is the M matrix, and the transmission coecient is given by T = 1/|M
11
|
2
,
or
T =
1
1 + 2
_

ka
_
2
_
_

ka
_
2
+ 1
_
(1 cos(4ka))
In Figure 4 I have plotted this for = 15.
Problem 6.6
A particle moves in one dimension with energy E in the eld of a potential dened
as the sum of a Heaviside step function and a delta function:
V (x) = V
0
(x) +g(x) (with V
0
and g > 0)
The particle is assumed to have energy E > V
0
.
(a) Work out the matrix M, which relates the amplitudes of the incident and
reected plane waves on the left of the origin (x < 0) to the amplitudes on
the right (x > 0).
(b) Derive the elements of the matrix S, which relates incoming and outgoing
amplitudes.
(c) Show that the S matrix is unitary and that the elements of the S matrix satisfy
the properties expected from the applicable symmetry considerations.
(d) Calculate the transmission coecient for particles incident from the right and
for particles incident from the left, which have the same energy (buf dierent
velocities).
We have
(x) =
_
Ae
ik1x
+Be
ik1x
, x 0
Ce
ik2x
+De
ik2x
, x 0
with
k
1
=
_
2m
2
E k
2
=
_
2m
2
(E V
0
).
Matching values at x = 0 gives
C +D = A+B (19)
Also, the delta function at the origin gives rise to a discontinuity in the derivative
of the wavefunction as before:
d
dx
0+
0
=
2mg
2
(0)
so
ik
2
(C D) ik
1
(AB) =
2mg
2
(A+B)
or
C D =
k
1
k
2
(AB) +
2mg
ik
2
2
(A+B). (20)
Adding and subtracting (19) and (20), we can read o
C =
1
2
_
1 +
k
1
k
2
+
2mg
ik
2
2
_
A+
1
2
_
1
k
1
k
2
+
2mg
ik
2
2
_
B
D =
1
2
_
1
k
1
k
2
2mg
ik
2
2
_
A
1
2
_
1 +
k
1
k
2
2mg
ik
2
2
_
B.
We could also write this as
_
C
D
_
=
_
M
11
M
12
M
12
M
11
__
A
B
_
Or instead of the M matrix we could use the S matrix, which is dened by
_
B
C
_
=
_
S
11
S
12
S
21
S
22
__
A
D
_
Since we already know the M coecients, we can calculate the elements of the
S matrix from the formula
S
11
=
M
12
M
11
S
12
=
1
M
11
S
21
=
1
M
11
S
22
= +
M12
M
11
However, this is tedious and long and boring and I dont want to do it.
Homer Reid
April 5, 2001
Chapter 7
Before starting on these problems I found it useful to review how the WKB
approximation works in the rst place. The Schr odinger equation is

2
2m
d
2
dx
2
(x) +V (x)(x) = E(x)
or
d
2
dx
2
(x) +k
2
(x)(x) = 0, k(x)
_
2m
2
[E V (x)].
We postulate for the functional form
(x) = Ae
iS(x)/
in which case the Schr odinger equation becomes
iS
(x) = [S
(x)]
2
2
k
2
(x). (1)
This equation cant be solved directly, but we obtain guidance from the obser-
vation that, for a constant potential, S(x) = kx, so that S
vanishes. For a
nonconstant but slowly varying potential we might imagine S
(x) will be small,

and we may take S
= 0 as the seed of a series of successive approximations

to the exact solution. To be specic, we will construct a series of functions
S
0
(x), S
1
(x), , where S
0
is the solution of (1) with 0 on the left hand side;
S
1
is a solution with S
0
on the left hand side; and so on. In other words, at
the nth step in the approximation sequence (by which point we have computed
S
n
(x)), we compute S
n
(x) and use that as the source term on the LHS of (1)
to calculate S
n+1
(x). Then we compute the second derivative of S
n+1
(x) and
use this as the source term for calculating S
n+2
, and so on ad innitum. In
1
symbols,
0 = [S
0
(x)]
2
2
k
2
(x) (2)
iS
0
= [S
1
(x)]
2
2
k
2
(x) (3)
iS
1
= [S
2
(x)]
2
2
k
2
(x) (4)

Equation (2) is clearly solved by taking
S
0
(x) = k(x) S
0
(x) = S
00
_
x
k(x
)dx
(5)
for any constant S
00
. Then S
0
(x) = k
(x), so (3) is
S
1
(x) =
_
k
2
(x) ik
(x).
With the two signs here, we appear to have four possible choices for S
1
. But
lets think a little about the signs in this equation. The sign under the
radical comes from the two choices of sign in (5). But if we chose, say, the plus
sign in that equation, so that S
0
> 0, we would also expect that S
1
> 0. Indeed,
if we choose the plus sign in (5) but the minus sign in (3), then S
0
and S
1
have
opposite sign, so S
1
diers from S
0
by an amount at least as large as S
0
, in
which case our approximation sequence S
0
, S
1
, has little hope of converging.
So we choose either both plus signs or both minus signs in (3), whence our two
choices are
S
1
= +
_
k
2
(x) +ik
(x) or S
1
=
_
k
2
(x) ik
(x). (6)
If V (x) is constant, k(x) is constant, and, as we observed before, the sequence
of approximations terminates at 0th order with S
0
being an exact solution. By
extension, if V (x) is not constant but changes little over one particle wavelength,
we have k
(x)/k
2
(x) 1, so we may expand the radicals in (6):
S
1
k(x)
_
1 +
ik
(x)
2k
2
(x)
_
or S
1
k(x)
_
1
ik
(x)
2k
2
(x)
_
or
S
1
k(x) +
ik
(x)
2k(x)
. (7)
Integrating,
S
1
(x) = S
1
(a)
_
x
a
k(u)du +
i
2
_
x
a
k
(u)
k(u)
dx
= S
1
(a)
_
x
a
k(u)du +
i
2
ln
k(x)
k(a)
where a is some point chosen such that the approximation (7) is valid in the
full range a < x
< x. We could go on to compute S

2
, S
3
, etc., but in practice
it seems the approximation is always terminated at S
1
.
The wavefunction at this order of approximation is
(x) = exp(iS
1
(x)/) =
_
e
iS1(a)/
__
e
i
R
x
a
k(u)du
__
e
ln k(x)/k(a)
_
1/2
= (a)
k(a)
k(x)
e
i
R
x
a
k(u)du
= (a)G
(x; a)
where
(8)
G
(x; a)
k(a)
k(x)
e
i
R
x
a
k(u)du
. (9)
We have written it this way to illustrate that the function G(x, a) is kind of like
a Greens function or propagator for the wavefunction, in the sense that, if you
know what is at some point a, you can just multiply it by G
(x; a) to nd
out what is at x. But this doesnt seem quite right: Schr odingers equation
is a second-order dierential equation, but (8) seems to be saying that we need
only one initial conditionthe value of at x = ato nd the value of at
other points. To clarify this subtle point, lets investigate the equations leading
up to (8). If the approximation (7) makes sense, then there are two solutions
of Schr odingers equation at x = a, one whose phase increases with increasing
x (positive derivative), and one whose phase decreases. Equation (8) seems to
be saying that we can use either G
+
or G
to get to (x) from (a); but the

requirement the d/dx be continuous at x = a means that only one or the
other will do. Indeed, in using (8) to continue from a to x we must choose
the appropriate propagatoreither G
+
or G
, according to the derivative of

at x = a; otherwise the overall wave function will have a discontinuity in its
rst derivative at x = a. So to use (8) to obtain values for at a point x, we
need to know both and
at a nearby point x = a, as should be the case for

a second-order dierential equation.
If we want to de-emphasize this nature of the solution with the propagator
we may write
(x) = C
1
k(x)
e
i
R
x
a
k(u)du
(10)
where C = (a)
_
k(a). In regions where V (x) > E, k(x) is imaginary, so its
useful to dene
(x) = ik(x) =
_
2m
2
[V (x) E] (11)
and
(x) = C
1
(x)
e
R
x
a
(u)du
. (12)
If we have a region of space in which the WKB approximation is valid,
knowing the value of (and its derivative) at one point within the region is
equivalent to knowing it everywhere, because we can use the propagator (9)
to get from that one point to every other point within the region. The WKB
method, however, gives us no way of determining the value of at that one
starting point. Furthermore, even if we know at one point within a region of
validity, we cant use (8) to determine in other, nonadjacent regions, because
we cant carry the propagator across regions of invalidity. So basically what we
need is a way of nding one starting value for (x) in every region of validity
of the WKB approximation.
How do we nd such points? Well, one sure-re way to get starting points
in regions of validity is to identify regions of invalidity, of which there will be
at least one adjacent to each region of validity, and then get values of at the
boundaries of the regions of invaliditywhich will also count as values in the
regions of validity. So we need to identify the regions of invalidity of the WKB
approximation and do a more accurate solution of the Schr odinger equation
there.
The WKB approximation breaks down when k
/k
2
1 ceases to hold, which
is true when k 0 but k
= 0, which happens near a classical turning point of

the motioni.e., a point x
0
at which V (x
0
) = E. But near such a point we may
expand V (x) E in a Taylor series around the point x
0
; if we keep only the
rst (linear in x) term in the series, we arrive at a Schr odinger equation which
we can solve exactly in the vicinity of x
0
. To do this, suppose the point x
0
is a
classical turning point of the motion, so that V (x
0
) = E. In the neighborhood
of x
0
we may expand V (x):
V (x) = E + (x x
0
)V
(x
0
) + (13)
Then the Schr odinger equation becomes
d
2
dx
2
(x)
2m
2
V
(x
0
)(x x
0
)(x) = 0. (14)
The useful substitution here is
u(x) = (x x
0
)
_
2m
2
V
(x
0
)
_
1/3
so
x(u) =
u
+x
0
.
If we dene
(u) = (x(u))
then
d
du
=
d
dx
dx
du
=
1
(x(u))
d
2
du
2
=
1
(x(u))
so (14) becomes
2
d
2
du
2
(u)
3
(x x
0
)(u) = 0
or
d
2
du
2
(u) u(u) = 0.
The solution to this dierential equation is
(u) =
1
Ai(u) +
2
Bi(u) (15)
so the solution to the Schr odinger equation (14) is
(x) =
1
Ai
_
(x x
0
)
_
+
2
Bi
_
(x x
0
)
_
.
For (x x
0
) 1 we have the asymptotic expression
(x)
1/2
[(x x
0
)]
1/4
_
1
2
e
2
3
|(xx0)|
3/2
+
2
e
+
2
3
|(xx0)|
3/2
_
(16)
and for (x x
0
) 1 we have
(x)
1/2
|(x x
0
)|
1/4
_
1
cos
_
2
3
|(x x
0
)|
3/2

4
_
2
sin
_
2
3
|(x x
0
)|
3/2

4
__
. (17)
To simplify these, we need to consider two possible kinds of turning point.
Case 1: V
(x
0
) > 0.
In this case the potential is increasing through the turning point at x
0
, which
means that V (x) < E for x < x
0
, and V (x) > E for x > x
0
. Hence the region
to the left of the turning point is the classically accessible region, while the right
of the turning point is classically forbidden. Since V
(x
0
) > 0, > 0, so for
x < x
0
(??) holds. For points close to the turning point on the left side,
k(x) =
_
2m
2
[E V (x)]
_
2m
2
V
_
1/2
(x
0
x)
1/2
=
3/2
(x
0
x)
1/2
so
|(x x
0
)|
1/4
=
_

k(x)
(18)
and
_
x0
x
k(u)du =
3/2
_
x0
x
(x
0
x)
1/2
du =
2
3
3/2
(x
0
x)
3/2
=
2
3
|(x x
0
)|
3/2
. (19)
On the other hand, for points close to the turning point on the left side we
have x > x
0
, so (x x
0
) > 0. In this region,
(x) =
_
2m
2
_
V (x) E
_
2m
2
V
(x
0
)(x x
0
)
_
1/2
=
3/2
(x x
0
)
1/2
(20)
so, for x near x
0
,
_
x
x0
(u)du =
3/2
_
x
x0
(u x
0
)
1/2
du =
2
3
3/2
(x x
0
)
3/2
(21)
and also
|(x x
0
)|
1/4
=
_

(x)
. (22)
Using (18) and (19) in (17), and (21) and (22) in (16), the solutions to the
Schr odinger equation on either side of a classical turning point x
0
at which
V
(x
0
) > 0 are
(x) =
1
k(x)
_
2
1
cos
_
_
x0
x
k(u)du

4
_
2
sin
_
_
x0
x
k(u)du

4
__
, x < x
0
(23)
(x) =
1
(x)
_
1
e
R
x
x
0
(u)du
+
2
e
R
x
x
0
(u)du
_
, x < x
0
(24)
(we redened the constants slightly in going to this equation).
Case 2: V
(x
0
) < 0.
In this case the potential is decreasing through the turning point, so the
classically accessible region is to the right of the turning point, and the forbidden
region to the left. Since V
(x
0
) < 0, < 0. That means that the regions of
applicability of (16) and (17) are on opposite sides of the turning points as they
were in the previous case. The solutions to the Schr odinger equation on either
side of the turning point are
(x) =
1
(x)
_
1
e
R
x
0
x
(u)du
+
2
e
R
x
x
0
(u)du
_
, x < x
0
(25)
(x) =
1
k(x)
_
2
1
cos
_
_
x
x0
k(u)du

4
_
2
sin
_
_
x
x0
k(u)du

4
__
, x > x
0
(26)
(27)
So, to apply the WKB approximation to a given potential V (x), the rst
step is to identify the classical turning points of the motion, and to divide space
up into regions bounded by turning points, within which regions the WKB
approximation (7) is valid. Then, for each turning point, we write down (23)
and (24) (or (25) and (26)) at nearby points on either side of the turning point,
and then use (10) to evolve the wavefunction from those points to other points
within the separate regions.
We should probably quantify the meaning of nearby in that last sentence.
Suppose x
0
is a classical turning point of the motion, and we are looking for
points x
0
at which to make the hando from approximations (16) and
(17) to the WKB approximation These points must satisfy several conditions.
First, the approximate Schr odinger equation (14) is only valid as long as we can
neglect the quadratic and higher-order terms in the expansion (13), so we must
have
|V
(x
0
)| |V
(x
0
)|
(x
0
)
V
(x
0
)
. (28)
But at the same time, must be suciently greater than 1 to justify the
approximation (16) (or suciently less than -1 to justify (17)); the condition
here is
2m
2
V
(x
0
)
1/3
1
2m
2
V
(x
0
)
1/3
. (29)
Finally, the points x must be suciently far away from the turning points that
the approximation (7) is valid for the derivative of the phase of the wavefunction;
the condition for this to be the case was
(x)
k
2
(x)
1
1
2
_

2
2m
_
(x )
[E V (x )]
3/2
1. (30)
If there are no points x
0
satisfying all three conditions, the WKB approxi-
mation cannot be used.
To apply all of this to the problem of bound states in a potential well,
consider a potential like that shown in Figure 1, with two classical turning points
at x = a and x = b. Although there are no discontinuities in the potential
here, the problem may be analyzed in a manner similar to that used in the
consideration of one-dimensional piecewise constant potentials, as in Chapter
6: we divide space into a number of distinct regions, obtain solutions of the
Schr odinger equation in each region, and then match values and derivatives at
the region boundaries.
To divide space into distinct regions in this case, we begin by identifying
narrow regions around the turning points a and b in which the linear approx-
imation (13) is valid. In the narrow region around x = a, we may use (25)
and (26); around x = b we may use (23) and (24). Let the narrow such region
around a be a
1
< x < a+
1
, and that around b be b
2
< x < b +
2
. Then
space divides naturally into ve regions: (a) x < a
In this region we are far enough to the left of the turning point that the WKB
approximation is valid, and the wavefunction takes the form (10). However, we
P
S
f
r
a
g
r
e
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t
s
a b
E
V (x)
Figure 1: A potential V (x) with two classical turning points for an energy E.
must throw out the term that grows exponentially as x , so we are left
with
(x) = A
1
(x)
e
R
(a)
x
(u)du
, x < a . (31)
(b) a < x < a +
In this region we are close enough to the turning point that (13) is valid, so
(25) and (26) may be used.
(x) =
1
(x)
_
1
e
R
a
x
(u)du
+
2
e
+
R
a
x
(u)du
_
, x < (a ). (32)
From (31) and (32) we see that continuity of both the value and rst derivative of
(x) at x = a requires taking
1
= A,
2
= 0. With this choice of constants,
we achive continuity not only of the value and rst derivative of but also of
all higher derivatives, as must be the case since there is no discontinuity in the
potential.
But now that we know the value of at x = a , we also know it at
x = a + , because of course the solution of the Schr odinger equation in the
narrow strip around a (to which (32) is an asymptotic approximation for x < a)
is valid throughout the strip; the same solution thats valid at x = a is valid
at x = a +. With
1
= A and
2
= 0, (26) becomes
(x) = 2A
1
k(x)
cos
_
_
x
a
k(u)du

4
_
= A
1
k(x)
_
e
+i(
R
x
a
k(u)du/4)
+e
i(
R
x
a
k(u)du/4)
_
, x = (a +)
(33)
(c) a + < x < b
In this region the WKB approximation (7) is valid, so we may use (8) to nd
the wavefunction at any point within the region. Using the expression (33) for
the wavefunction at x = a+, integrating from a+ to x in the propagator (9),
and using G
+
and G
, respectively, to propagate the rst and second terms in

(33), we obtain for the wavefunction at a point x in this region
(x) = A
1
k(x)
_
e
+i
R
(a+)
a
k(u)du+
R
x
(a+)
k(u)du/4
+e
i
R
(a+)
a
k(u)du+
R
x
(a+)
/4
_
= A
1
k(x)
_
e
+i(
R
x
a
k(u)du/4)
+e
i(
R
x
a
k(u)du/4)
_
= 2A
1
k(x)
cos
__
x
a
k(u)du

4
_
= 2A
1
k(x)
cos
_
_
b
a
k(u)du
_
b
x
k(u)du

4
_
, a + < x < b
(34)
Okay, I have now carried this analysis far enough to see for myself exactly
where the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition
_
b
a
k(u)du =
_
n +
1
2
_
, n = 1, 2, (35)
comes from, which was my original goal, so I am now going to stop this exercise
and proceed directly to the problems.
Problem 7.1
Apply the WKB method to a particle that falls with acceleration g in a uniform
gravitational eld directed along the z axis and that is reected from a perfectly
elastic plane surface at z = 0. Compare with the rigorous solutions of this problem.
Well start with the exact solution to the problem. The requirement of
perfect elastic reection at z = 0 may be imposed by taking V (x) to jump
suddenly to innity at z = 0, i.e.
V (x) =
_
mgz, z > 0
, z 0.
For z > 0, the Schr odinger equation is
0 =
d
2
dx
2
(x) +
2m
2
[E mgz] (x)
=
d
2
dx
2
(x) +
2m
2
g
2
_
E
mg
z
_
(x)
=
d
2
dx
2
(x)
2m
2
g
2
[z z
0
] (x) (36)
where z
0
= E/mg. With the substitution
u = (z z
0
) =
_
2m
2
g
2
_
1/3
and taking (u) = (x(u)), we nd that (36) is just the Airy equation for (u),
d
2
du
2
(u) u(u) = 0
with solutions
(u) =
1
Ai(u) +
2
Bi(u).
Since we require a solution that remains nite as z , we must take
2
= 0.
The solution to (36) is then
(x) =
1
Ai
_
(z z
0
)
_
, (z > 0). (37)
For z < 0, I wasnt quite sure how to account for the innite potential
jump at z = 0, so instead I supposed the potential for z < 0 to be a constant,
V (z) = V
0
, where eventually Ill take V
0
. Then the Schr odinger equation
for z < 0 is
d
2
dz
2
(z)
2m
2
[V
0
E] (z) = 0
with solution
(z) = Ae
kz
, k =
_
2m
2
[V
0
E]. (38)
Matching values and derivatives of (37) and (38) at z = 0, we have
1
Ai(z
0
) = A
1
Ai
(z
0
) = kA
Dividing, we obtain
1
Ai(z
0
)
Ai
(z
0
)
=
1
k
Now taking V
0
, we also have k , so the RHS of this goes to zero;
thus the condition is that z
0
be a zero of the Airy function, which means the
energy eigenvalues E
n
are given by
_
2m
2
g
2
_
1/3
E
n
mg
= x
nm
E
n
=
_
mg
2
2
2
_
1/3
x
n
(39)
where x
n
is the nth root of the equation
Ai(x
n
) = 0.
So thats the exact solution. In the WKB approximation, the spectrum of
energy eigenvalues is determined by the condition (35). In this case the classical
turning points are at z = 0 and z = z
0
, so we have
_
n +
1
2
_
=
_
z0
0
k(z) dz
=
_
2m
2
_
z0
0
[E mgz]
1/2
dz
=
_
2m
2
g
2
_
z0
0
[z
0
z]
1/2
du
=
_
2m
2
g
2
3
(z
0
z)
3/2
z0
0
=
2
3
_
2m
2
g
2
_
E
mg
_
3/2
so the nth eigenvalue is given by
E
n
=
_
mg
2
2
2
_
1/3
_
3
2
_
n +
1
2
_
_
2/3
.
Homer Reid
May 13, 2001
Chapter 8
1
Problem 8.1
Apply the variational method to estimate the ground state energy of a particle
conned in a one-dimensional box for which V = 0 for a < x < a, and (a) = 0.
(a) First, use an unnormalized trapezoidal trial function which vanishes at a and
is symmetric with respect to the center of the well:
t
(x) =
_
(a |x|), b x a
(a b), |x| b.
(b) A more sophisticated trial function is parabolic, again vanishing at the end
points and even in x.
(c) Use a quartic trial function of the form
t
(x) = (a
2
x
2
)(x
2
+),
where the ratio of the adjustable parameters and is determined variation-
ally.
(d) Compare the results of the dierent variational calculations with the exact
ground state energy, and, using normalized wave functions, evaluate the mean
square deviation
_
a
a
|(x)
t
(x)|
2
dx for the various cases.
(e) Show that the variational procedure produces, in addition to the approximation
to the ground state, an optimal quartic trial function with nodes between the
endpoints. Interpret the corresponding stationary energy value.
First lets observe that the exact expressions for the ground state wavefunction
and energy are
n
(x) =
1
a
cos(k
n
x), k
n
=
n
2a
, E
n
= n
2

2
2
8ma
2
1.23

2
ma
2
.
(a) We need rst to normalize the trial wavefunction. Taking
t
(x) =
_
(a |x|), b |x| a
(a b), x| b.
we have
_
a
a
2
t
(x)dx = 2
_
a
0
2
t
(x)dx
= 2
2
_
(a b)
2
_
b
0
dx +
_
a
b
(a x)
2
dx
_
= 2
2
_
b(a b)
2
+
1
3
(a b)
3
_
= 2
2
_
b(a
2
+b
2
2ab) +
1
3
(a
3
b
3
) a
2
b +b
2
a
_
=
2
2
3
_
a
3
+ 2b
3
3ab
2
_
so
t
is normalized by taking
2
=
3
2
_
1
a
3
+ 2b
3
3ab
2
_
. (1)
Now we can compute the energy expectation value of
t
:
<
t
|H|
t
> =
2
2m
_
a
a
t
(x)
d
2
dx
2
t
(x) dx
Integrating by parts,
=
2
2m
_
t
(x)
t
(x)
a
a
_
a
a
2
t
(x) dx
_
(the rst integral vanishes since
t
vanishes at the endpoints)
= +
2
m
_
a
0
2
t
(x) dx
=

2
m
2
_
a
b
dx
=

2
m
2
(b a).
Using (1), this is
< H >=
3
2
2m
_
(b a)
a
3
+ 2b
3
3ab
2
_
.
To nd the optimal value of b, we zero the derivative of this with respect to b:
0 =
1
(a
3
+ 2b
3
3ab
2
)

6b
2
(b a)
(a
3
+ 2b
3
3ab
2
)
2
+
6ab(b a)
(a
3
+ 2b
3
3ab
2
)
2
= 4b
3
+ 9b
2
a 6a
2
b +a
3
(b) For a parabolic trial function we take
t
(x) = (a
2
x
2
).
The normalization integral is
_
a
a
2
t
(x) dx = 2
2
_
a
0
(a
2
x
2
)
2
dx
= 2
2
_
a
0
(a
4
+x
4
2a
2
x
2
)dx
= 2
2
_
a
5
+
1
5
a
5
2
3
a
5
_
=
16
15
2
a
5
so
t
(x) is normalized by taking
2
=
15
16a
5
.
The expectation value of the energy is
< H > =

2
2m
_
a
a
t
(x)
d
2
dx
2
t
(x) dx
= 2
2
m
2
_
a
0
(a
2
x
2
)dx
=
4
3
2
m
2
a
3
=
5
4
2
ma
2
1.25

2
ma
2
.
So this is in good agreement with the exact ground state energy.
(c) In this case we have
t
(x) = (a
2
x
2
)(x
2
+)
= [x
4
+ (a
2
)x
2
+a
2
]
The kinetic energy is

2
2m
d
2
dx
2
t
(x) =
2
m
[6x
2
(a
2
)].
The expectation value of the energy is
Problem 8.2
Using scaled variables, as in Section 5.1, consider the anharmonic oscillator Hamil-
tonian,
H =
1
2
p
2
+
1
2
2
+
4
where is a real-valued parameter.
(a) Estimate the ground state energy by a variational calculation, using as a trial
function the ground state wave function for the harmonic oscillator
H
0
() =
1
2
p
2
+
1
2
2
where is an adjustable variational parameter. Derive an equation that
relates and .
(b) Compute the variational estimate of the ground state energy of H for various
positive values of the strength .
(c) Note that the method yields answers for a discrete energy eigenstate even if
is slightly negative. Draw the potential energy curve to judge if this result
makes physical sense. Explain.
(a) To nd the ground state eigenfunction of the Hamiltonian Merzbacher pro-
poses, its convenient to rewrite it:
H
0
() =
1
2
p
2
+
1
2
2
=
1
2
2
+
1
2
2
Upon substituting u =
1/2
we obtain
=
_
1
2
2
u
2
+
1
2
u
2
_
and now this is just the ordinary harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian, scaled by a
constant factor , with ground-state eigenfunction
() = Ce
u
2
/2
= Ce
2
/2
.
Adding the normalization constant,
() =
_
_
1/4
e
2
/2
.
Now we want to treat as a parameter and vary it until the energy expectation
value of () is minimized. The energy expectation value is
| H | = | T | +| V |
where T = p
2
/2 and V =
2
/2 +
4
. Lets compute the two expectation values
separately. First of all, to compute the expectation value of T, we need to know
the result of operating on () with p
2
:
p
2
() =
_
_
1/4
_

2
/2
__
=
_
_
1/4
_

_
e
2
/2
_
_
=
_
_
1/4 _
+
2
2
/2
Then for the expectation value of T we have
| T | =
1
2
_

()p
2
()d
=
1
2
_
_
+
2
2
_
e
2
d
=
1
2
_
+
1
2
2
_

3
_
=

4
. (2)
On the other hand, for the expectation value of V we have
(3)
exptwoV =
_
_
1
2
_

2
e
2
d +
_

4
e
2
d
_
=
_
_
1
4
_

3
+
3
4
5
_
=
1
4
+
3
4
2
. (4)
Adding (2) and (4),
exptwoH =
1
2
_
+
1
+
3
2
_
. (5)
To minimize this with respect to we equate its derivative to 0:
0 = 1
1
2

6
3
or
3
6 = 0. (6)
We could then solve this equation for in terms of to obtain the energy-
minimizing value of for a given perturbing potential strength . But writing
down the full solution would be tedious. Instead lets see what happens when
is small.
Evidently, when = 0 the Hamiltonian in this problem degenerates to the
normal harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian, for which the energy is minimized by
the (unscaled) ground state harmonic oscillator wavefunction, i.e. () with
= 1. We can thus imagine that, for small , the energy-minimizing value of
will be close to 1, and we may write () 1 + for some small . Inserting
this in (6),
(1 + 3 + 3
2
+
3
) (1 +) = 6
Keeping only terms of zeroth or rst order in the small quantity (which is
equivalent to keeping terms of lowest order in the perturbing potential strength
) we obtain from this
3,
so for 0 the minimizing value of is
1 + 3.
Inserting this estimate into (5) and again keeping only terms of lowest order in
we nd
(7)
exptwoH =
1
4
_
(1 +) + (1 +)
1
+ 3(1 +)
2
1
4
_
(1 + 3) + (1 + 3)
1
+ 3(1 + 3)
2
1
4
[(1 + 3) + (1 3) + 3(1 6)]
1
2
+
3
4
. (8)
Since the 1/2 term is the normal (unperturbed) energy of the state, the energy
shift caused by the perturbing potential is
E =
3
4
. (9)
Problem 8.3
In rst-order perturbation theory, calculate the change in the energy levels of a
linear harmonic oscillator that is perturbed by a potential gx
4
. For small values of
the coecient, compare the result with the variational calculation in Problem 2.
The energy shift to rst order is
E = exptwo
n
(x)|gx
4
|
n
(x) = g
n
| x
4
|
n
.
I worked out this expectation value in Problem 5.3:
E = gexptwo
n
x
4
n
=
3g
2
_

m
_
2 _
1
2
+n +n
2
_
In particular, the energy shift of the ground state is
E
0
=
3g
4
_

m
_
2
which agrees with () (the dierence in the factor (/m)
2
just represents the
fact that in Problem 8.2 we used scaled variables, whereas in this problem we
inserted the units explicitly).
Problem 8.4
Using a Gaussian trial function, e
x
2
, with an adjustable parameter, make a vari-
ational estimate of the ground state energy for a particle in a Gaussian potential
well, represented by the Hamiltonian
H =
p
2
2m
V
0
e
x
2
(V
0
> 0, > 0).
For notational simplicity, I like to put /2 = . Then
(x) = Ce
x
2
/2
and the normalization constant is determined by
1 = C
2
_

e
x
2
dx C =
_
_
1/4
.
The kinetic energy operator operating on this state yields
T =
p
2
2m
(x) =

2
2m
x
_

x
(x)
_
=
_
_
1/4
2
2m
x
_
xe
x
2
/2
_
=
_
_
1/4
2
2m
_
+
2
x
2
e
x
2
/2
and its expectation value is
T =
_
_
1/2
2
2m
_

2
2
_

3
_
=

2
4m
. (10)
The expectation value of the potential energy is
V = V
0
_

2
(x)e
x
2
dx
= V
0
_
e
x
2
e
x
2
dx
= V
0
_
_

( +)
= V
0

( +)
. (11)
Combining (10) and (11),
exptwo|H| = | T | +| V | =

2
2m
V
0

( +)
. (12)
To minimize with respect to we equate the rst derivative of this to zero:
0 =

2
2m

V
0
2
_
1
_
( +)

_
( +)
3
_
=

2
2m

V
0
2
_

2
( +)
3
_
1/2
= ( +)
3
_
mV
0
2
_
2
=
4
+ 3
3
+ 3
2
2
+
3
_
mV
0
2
_
2
= x
4
+ 3x
3
+ 3x
2
+x
_
mV
0
_
2
where I put x = /. In theory we could write down an explicit expression for
the roots of this quartic in terms of mV
0
/
2
, and then insert said expression
into (12) to obtain the lowest energy attainable with this form of trial wave
function. In practice, however, this would be a mess, and I cant see any way
to proceed other than numerically. Am I missing some kind of trick here?
Problem 8.5
Show that as inadequate a variational trial function as
(x) =
_
C
_
1
|x|
a
_
|x| a
0 |x| > a
yields, for the optimum value of a, an upper limit to the ground state energy of the
linear harmonic oscillator, which lies within less than 10 percent of the exact value.
The rst task is to evaluate the normalization constant C.
1 = C
2
_
a
a
(x)
2
dx
= 2C
2
_
a
0
_
1
x
a
_
2
dx
= 2C
2
_
a
0
_
1 2
x
a
+
x
2
a
2
_
= 2C
2
_
a a +
a
3
_
so
C =
_
3
2a
.
The harmonic oscillator hamiltonian is
E = T +V =
p
2
2m
+
m
2
x
2
2
.
(13)
exptwoT =

2
2m
_
a
a
(x)

2
x
2
(x) dx (14)
Integrating by parts,
=

2
2m
_
(x)

x
(x)
a
a
_
a
a
_

x
(x)
_
2
dx
_
The rst term vanishes...
=

2
2m
_
3
2a
__
a
a
1
a
2
dx
=
3
2
2ma
2
(15)
(16)
exptwoV =
m
2
2
_
a
a
x
2
(x)
2
dx
= m
2
_
a
0
x
2
(x)
2
dx
= m
2
_
3
2a
__
a
0
_
x
2
2x
3
a
+
x
4
a
2
_
dx
= m
2
_
3
2a
_
x
3
3

x
4
2a
+
x
5
5a
2
a
0
=
m
2
a
2
20
(17)
exptwo|H| = | T | +| V | =
3
2
2ma
2
+
m
2
a
2
20
. (18)
To minimize with respect to a we set the a derivative of this to zero:
0 =
3
2
ma
3
+
m
2
a
10
or
a
4
=
30
2
m
2
2
a
2
=
30

m
.
Inserting into (18),
exptwoH =
3
30
0.547 .
Of course the actual ground state energy is 0.5 , so the fractional error is
0.047/0.5 < 10%.
Problem 8.6
A particle of mass m moves in a potential V (r). The n th discrete energy eigen-
function of this system,
n
(r), corresponds to the energy eigenvalue E
n
. Apply the
variational principle by using as a trial function,
t
(r) =
n
(r),
where is a variational (scaling) parameter, and derive the virial theorem for sta-
tionary states.

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Solutions to Problems in Merzbacher,

Quantum Mechanics, Third Edition

) is a real-valued function, dened over the

th state to the number of oscillators in the nth state is

(|X|), supplemented by a repulsive interaction g/|X| between the wells

(x) will be small,

= 0 as the seed of a series of successive approximations

< x. We could go on to compute S

to get to (x) from (a); but the

, according to the derivative of

at a nearby point x = a, as should be the case for

= 0, which happens near a classical turning point of

, respectively, to propagate the rst and second terms in

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