Asg 1

1
PHYS 334
Assignment 1
Due: Tuesday, May 19, 2014, in class.

1. Back-of-the-envelope calculation:
Based on the uncertainty principle, estimate the amplitude of oscillation of a harmonic oscillator
1
of mass m under the potential V (x) = m 2 x2 , and its ground state energy.
2
2. Fourier integral theorem:
L
L
According to the theory of Fourier series, a smooth function f (x) defined over x
2
2
can be expanded as

X
2n
f (x) =
cn ei L x , n integers .
(1)
n=

(You will learn about Fourier series in more detail in PHYS 364.)
(a) Show that
1
cn =
L

L
2

dx0 ei

2n 0
x
L

f (x0 ).

(2)

L
2
2n0

(Hint: multiply both side of eq.(1) by ei L x and integrate.)

2
2n
. Show that the change in kn when n increases by 1 is kn =
. By
(b) Let kn =
L
L
substituting eq.(2) into eq.(1), show that in the limit L ,
Z
1
f (x) =
F (k) eikx dk
(3)
2
where

3. Griffiths p.67, Problem 2.21.

1
F (k) =
2

f (x) eikx dx.

(4)