BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, PILANI (RAJASTHAN)

2019 - 2020 (SEMESTER I)

Advanced Quantum Mechanics (PHY F421)
Assignment - I (26th August 2019)

1. Use the WKB approximation and calculate the energy levels of a spin-less particle of mass m moving in an 1D
box with walls at x = 0 and x = L.

2. Use the WKB approximation to find the allowed energies En of an infinite square well of height V0 extending
half way across, i.e.,
V0 , if 0 < x < 2a ,






V (x) = 0, if a2 < x < a,




∞, otherwise.


3. Use the WKB approximation and calculate the energy levels of the s-states of an electron that is bound to a
Ze nucleus.

4. Calculate the following for the bouncing ball (gravitational potential) problem using the WKB approximation:

(a) Find the allowed energies En in terms of m, g and h.

(b) Compare the WKB approximation to the first four energies with the “exact” results that we found from
the zeros of the Airy function and its derivative.

5. Consider a particle of mass m in the n-th stationary state of the harmonic oscillator with angular frequency ω .

(a) Find the turning point xt (positively sloped turning point).

(b) How far d could you go from the turning point before the error in the linearized potential Vlin (x) ≃
E +V ′ (xt ) x reaches 1%? That is, if

V (xt + d) −Vlin (xt + d)

= 0.01,
V (xt )

then how much is d?