Principles of Quantum

Mechanics

Mochamad Zakki Fahmi, Ph.D

Department of Chemistry, Airlangga University
 Uncertainty principle
A typical problem in classical mechanics involves the finding of the values of the
various dynamical variables of a system, given the values of the p's and q's at one
instant.
Suppose that we set out to measure the position and momentum of an
electron in order to determine its motion. The natural instrument to use in the
determination of its position is a microscope,
In position state
The accuracy with which a microscope can measure distance along the x direction is
limited by the wavelength of the light used, this limit being

Compthon
effect
In momentum state

Compthon
effect
 ℎ Heisenberg
∆𝑝. ∆𝑥 ≥
4𝜋 Principle

“It is impossible to specify simultaneously, with arbitrary

precision, both the momentum and the position of a
particle”
Questions
1. Jika kecepatan peluru yang ditembakkan dengan massa 1 gram adalah 1 µms-1 ,
tentukan Ketidakpastian minimum dari posisinya!
2. Kecepatan suatu mobil dengan berat 3 x 103 kg dapat diukur dengan ketelitian +
0.0025 kms-1, sedangkan posisinya dpat diukur dengan ketelitian + 0.01 km.
Apakah ketidak pastian heisenberg berlaku disini?
3. The speed of a certain electron is 995 km s−1. If the uncertainty in its momentum is
to be reduced to 0.0010 per cent, what uncertainty in its location must be
tolerated?
 Operator, Eigenvalue and
Eigenfunction
To formulate a systematic way of extracting information from the wavefunction, we first
note that any Schrödinger equation follow

The quantity Ĥ
(commonly read aitch-hat) is an
operator, something that carries out a
mathematical operation on the function ψ. The
operator Ĥ plays a special role in quantum mechanics,
and is called the hamiltonian operator after the
nineteenth century mathematician William Hamilton, who
developed a form of classical mechanics that, it subsequently
turned out, is well suited to the formulation of quantum
mechanics. The factor E is called the eigenvalue of the
operator, while The function ψ in an equation of this kind is
called an eigenfunction of the operator Ĥ and is different for
each eigenvalue

(Operator)(eigenfunction) = (eigenvalue) × (eigenfunction)

1. Show that eax is an eigenfunction of the operator d/dx, and find the corresponding
2
eigenvalue. Show that eax is not an eigenfunction of d/dx.
2. Is the function cos ax an eigenfunction of (a) d/dx, (b) d2/dx2?
condition on eigenfunction
• continuous
• have a continuous slope
• be single-valued
• be square-integrable
 The Schrödinger equation
Quantum mechanics acknowledges the wave–particle duality of matter and
the existence of quantization by supposing that. Beside travelling along a definite path,
a particle is distributed through space like a wave.
In 1926, the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger proposed an equation for
finding the wavefunction of any system. The time-independent Schrödinger
equation for a particle of mass m moving in one dimension with energy E in a system
that does not change with time is

V(x) = the potential energy of the particle at the point x;

E = the sum of potential and kinetic energies,
ħ = h/2π = a convenient modification of Planck’s constant
with the value 1.055 × 10−34 J s.
m = mass of moving particles
ψ = eigenfunction
Correlation of Schrödinger equation with de Broglie

The Schrödinger equation can be seen to be plausible by noting that it

implies the de Broglie relation for a freely moving particle in a region
where its potential energy V is constant (V(x) = V)

In this case a solution is

The quantity E − V is equal to the kinetic energy of the particle We now

recognize that cos kx is a wave of wavelength λ = 2π/k, as can be seen by
comparing cos kx with the standard form of a harmonic wave, cos(2πx/λ).
Therefore,
• Eigen-equation Aˆ   a


• Linear Momentum pˆ x  i
x
Operater
pˆ 2
 2
 2

• Hamiltonian Operator Hˆ  Tˆ  Vˆ  x  Vˆ  [  Vˆ]

2m 2m x 2

• Time-dependent ˆ 
H  i
Shrödinger equation t
Question
 The Born Interpretation of the Wavefunction

A central principle of quantum mechanics is that the wavefunction contains all

the dynamical information about the system it describes. The
Interpretation of the wavefunction in terms of the location of the particle is based
on a suggestion made by Max Born. He said that

“ If the wavefunction of a particle has the value ψ at some

point x, then the probability of finding the particle between x
and x + dx is proportional to |ψ |2dx”

Thus, |ψ|2 is the probability density, and

to obtain the probability it must be multiplied
by the length of the infinitesimal region dx.
The wavefunction ψ itself is called
the probability amplitude.
 For a particle free to move in three
dimensions (for example, an electron near a
nucleus in an atom), the wavefunction
depends on the point r with coordinates x, y,
and z, and the interpretation of ψ(r) is as
follows
“ If the wavefunction of a particle has the
value ψ at some point r, then the probability
of finding the particle in an infinitesimal
volume dτ = dxdydz at that point is
proportional to |ψ |2dτ”

Questions

1. The wavefunction of an electron in the lowest energy state of a

−𝑟
hydrogen atom is proportional to 𝑒 , with a0 a constant and r the
𝑎0

distance from the nucleus. Calculate the relative probabilities of finding

the electron inside a region of volume δV = 1.0 pm3, which is small even
on the scale of the atom, located at (a) the nucleus, (b) a distance a0
from the nucleus.
 Normalizations
Propability for eigenfunction is

One dimension Three dimension

Normalization ,N, is constant and real value accompanying the function

and matching the function to be schrodinger equation. A mathematical
feature of the Schrödinger equation is that, if ψ is a solution, then so is Nψ, where
N is any constant.
Due probability for any egienfunction We find the normalization constant by
noting that, for a normalized wavefunction Nψ, the probability that a particle
is in the region dx is equal to (Nψ*)(Nψ)dx (we are taking N to be real).
Question
Normalize the wavefunction used for the hydrogen atom if the wavefunction of an electron in
the lowest energy state of a hydrogen atom is proportional to e−r/a0, with a0 a constant and r
the distance from the nucleus.
 Hermitian operators
All the quantum mechanical operators that correspond to observables have a very
special mathematical property: they are ‘hermitian’.

It is easy to confirm that the position operator (x ×) is hermitian because we are free
to change the order of the factors in the integrand:

Is linier momentum operator is hermiticity?

Also confirm that the operator d2/dx2 is hermitian!
 Orthogonality
To say that two different functions ψi and ψj are orthogonal means that the integral
(over all space) of their product is zero:

Is wavefunction are orthogonality?

 Comutator of the operator
Pair operator or observables will be complementary observables (Specifically, two
observables H1 and H2 are complementary if

Ĥ1(Ĥ2ψ) ≠ Ĥ2(Ĥ1ψ) not Commute

The different outcomes of the effect of applying Ĥ1 and Ĥ2 in a different order are
expressed by introducing the commutator of the two operators, which is defined as

[Ĥ1, Ĥ2] = Ĥ1Ĥ2- Ĥ2Ĥ1

Question
Investigate whether x and d/dx are commute
 Expectation value
The expectation value of an operator Ω is defined as

𝜓 ∗ 𝛺𝜓𝑑𝜏
<𝛺 >=
𝜓 ∗ 𝜓 𝑑𝜏
Bila ternormalisasi ( 𝜓 ∗ 𝜓 𝑑𝜏=1)

Question
A particle is in a state described by the wavefunction ψ(x) = (2a)1/2e−ax, where a is a constant
and 0 ≤ x≤∞. Determine the expectation value of the commutator of the position and
momentum operators.
 Question
Determine the expecting value of linier momentum of a particle moved on the box with
length a and wavefunction ψ= A sin nπx/a if

1. Ψ was normalized
2. Ψ was not normalized