Quantum Physics

Matter wave, wavefunction, and Uncertainty

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 Waves of .... ?
 Each wave is subjected to a parameter that varies periodically

 Sound wave: Pressure

 EMW: Field

 Matter waves: ?

 What are the possibilities?

 Hint: “No motion of particle, no matter wave”

 Association of moving particle and wave has to remain intact

 It brings one to think about probability

 Probability of finding particle at (x,y,z) at time t.

 Wavefunction: ψ (x,y,z,t) Probability: |ψ|2

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 Speed of Wave
 Particle’s speed is v

 It is essential to maintain the “association”

 So, speed of wave should be consistent with that of particle

 vp = λ (or /k) Phase velocity of wave

 λ is de-Broglie wavelength λ = h/mv

 To find , we use h = mc2  = mc2 /h (or mv2/2h)

 Now, phase velocity vp = λ  vp = (mc2 /h) x (h/mv)

 vp = c2 / v (or vp = v / 2)

 Anomaly in the speeds of particle and wave. 3

 Needs Correction
 Next possibility: A group of waves rather than a single wave
 vg = d/dk (Group velocity)
 vg = (d/dv)/(dk/dv)

𝒎𝒄𝟐 𝒎𝟎 𝒄𝟐
 𝝎 = 𝟐𝝅 = 𝟐𝝅 = 𝟐𝝅
𝒉 𝒗𝟐
𝒉 𝟏− 𝟐
𝒄

𝟐𝝅 𝒎𝒗 𝒎𝟎 𝒗
𝐤= = 𝟐𝝅 = 𝟐𝝅
λ 𝒉 𝒗𝟐
𝒉 𝟏− 𝟐
𝒄

𝒅𝝎 𝟐𝝅𝒎𝟎 𝒗
 = 𝟑/𝟐  vg = d/dk = v
𝒅𝒗 𝒗𝟐
𝒉 𝟏− 𝟐
𝒄
 De Broglie wave group associated with a moving
𝒅𝒌 𝟐𝝅𝒎𝟎 particle travels with as same speed as particle.
 = 𝟑/𝟐
𝒅𝒗 𝒗𝟐
𝒉 𝟏− 𝟐
𝒄 4
 Wave-function
Association of moving particle and wave has to remain intact

 Probability of finding particle at (x,y,z) at time t.

 Wavefunction: ψ Probability: |ψ|2

 Well-behaved wavefunctions:

 ψ must be finite, single-valued, and continuous

 Probability has certain rules to follow.

 Derivatives must be finite, single-valued, and continuous

 Basically talks about the corresponding momenta.

 Must be normalizable

 The overall scenario in the given space

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 Quantum Physics

Operators, Other Aspects, and Schrodinger Equation

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 Operators
 Wavefunction: ψ (x,y,z,t) Probability: |ψ|2

 ψ needs to be found and analysed for a quantum system

 Quantum Mechanics runs on operators that are applied on ψ

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 Eigen value
 Variables are ‘quantized’, means they have ‘discrete values’

 Represented by eigenvalues corresponding to that variable (say, G)

Gopψn = Gnψn (Gop is the operator corresponding to variable G)

A simple example (Beiser, 5.3)

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 Schrodinger Equation

 Need of some mean to find out wavefunction

 Basically, derived from energy conservation

 E=T+U

 Eψ = Tψ + Uψ

 Time-dependent

 Time-independent or steady-state form

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More Information
 More on Wavefunction Properties
 Superposition: If ψ1, ψ2,… ψn are n independent solutions of a same quantum
system, then
ψ = a1ψ1 + a2ψ2 + …… + anψn will also be a solution of that system
(where a1, a2,… an are the coefficients)
Resemblance with the superposition of other waves (e.g., sound waves, EM
waves etc.)
 Suppose, we consider electron beams subjected to two slits and ψ1, ψ2 are
wavefunctions (emanating from two slits), then

Similar to resultant intensity in Young’s experiment 11

 Do Operators Commute?

 Commutation: If two variables commute, their physical observables

can be known simultaneously.
 So, here, non-commuting of ‘x’ and ‘p’ makes perfect sense
 Of course, in terms of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
 It’s a very important property of the quantum systems.
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 Expectation value
 For every dynamic variable (), there exists an expectation value <>

 Can be calculated from ψ and corresponding operator (op) like

 <> is nothing but the average value or ensemble value of variable 

Interpretation

 A unique measurement indicates the particle to be in any single state.

 Multiple measurements can lead to observance of multiple states.

 Expectation value is a ‘weighted average’ of all measurements

Example
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Specific Example

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 Uncertainty Principle

 Let’s look at real form of Uncertainty principle

 Takes impetus from the size of wavegroup

 Position (x) and momentum (p) are coupled

 ∆x and ∆p are corresponding uncertainties

 Small wavegroup: ∆x small, ∆p large

 Large wavegroup: ∆x large, ∆p small

 It is impossible to know both at the same time

 ∆x . ∆p = constant (usually, h/4)

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