Physics 3 – 114054

Class Exercise 6 – Wavefunction and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle

Wavefunction

In quantum mechanics, a particle is represented by a wavefunction, Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡).

The wavefunction contains all the physical information regarding the particle, however Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡) itself
does not have physical meaning, therefore can be complex function.

|Ψ|2 = Ψ∗ Ψ, is interpreted as the probability density function of the locations of the particle. The
probability that a particle will be found in the infinitesimal interval 𝑑𝑥 about the point 𝑥 is

𝑝(𝑥) = |Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡)|2 𝑑𝑥

The probability of finding the particle in any finite interval 𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑏 is
𝑏
𝑝(𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑏) = ∫ |Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡)|2 𝑑𝑥
𝑎

As a consequence, ff the probabilistic interpretation of the wavefunction, it must be smooth, single-

valued and continuous function and must be normalized:

∞
∫ |Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡)|2 𝑑𝑥 = 1
−∞

because if the particle exists, then the probability of finding it somewhere in space is 1.

Note:

This is for a 1-dimensional space, of course in 3-dimensions, the normalization is done over a volume,
𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦𝑑𝑧.

Physics 3 (114054) -1- Class Exercise 6

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle

The probabilistic nature of quantum physics places an important limitation on detecting a particle’s
position and momentum. That is, it is not possible to measure the position and the momentum of a
particle simultaneously with unlimited precision.

The uncertainties in the components of these quantities are given by

ℏ
𝛥𝑥𝛥𝑝𝑥 ≥
2
ℏ
𝛥𝑦𝛥𝑝𝑦 ≥
2
ℏ
𝛥𝑧𝛥𝑝𝑧 ≥
2

One can also write this principle for time and energy as follows,

ℏ
𝛥𝐸𝛥𝑡 ≥
2

Furthermore, from the probabilistic interpretation of the particle’s wavefunction, we can understand
the uncertainty as the standard deviation, therefore for example for the position

Δ𝑥 = √⟨𝑥 2 ⟩ − ⟨𝑥⟩2

Physics 3 (114054) -2- Class Exercise 6

Exercise 1

Given the following wavefunction of a particle

𝑏
Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡) = √ 𝑒 𝑖(𝑘𝑥−𝜔𝑡)
𝑎2 + 𝑥2

Where 𝑎 and 𝑏 are positive constants. 𝑘 is the wavefunction and 𝜔 is the angular frequency.

a. What is the condition on 𝑏?

Hint: Use the relation

𝑑𝑥 1 𝑥
∫ = arctan ( )
𝑎2 + 𝑥 2 𝑎 𝑎

b. Where is the particle most likely to be found?

c. What is the probability to find the particle in the range (−𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑎)?

Solution

a.

|Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡)|2 is the probability density function of the position of the particle, therefore, it must be positive
and normalized,

𝑏 𝑖(𝑘𝑥−𝜔𝑡) 2
𝑏
|Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡)|2 = |𝑒
⏟ | =
𝑎2 + 𝑥 2 𝑎2 + 𝑥 2
=1

The function is positive, so we left the find the normalization condition:

∞
∫ |Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡)|2 𝑑𝑥 = 1
−∞

∞
𝑏 𝑏 𝑥 𝑥=∞ 𝑏 𝜋 𝜋 𝑏𝜋
=∫ 2 2
𝑑𝑥 = arctan | = [ − (− )] = =1
−∞ 𝑎 + 𝑥 𝑎 𝑎 𝑥=−∞ 𝑎 2 2 𝑎

Physics 3 (114054) -3- Class Exercise 6

 𝑎
→ 𝑏=
𝜋

Therefore, the wavefunction is

𝑎
Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡) = √ 𝑒 𝑖(𝑘𝑥−𝜔𝑡)
𝜋(𝑎2 + 𝑥2)

b.
The most probable place to find the particle is where the probability density function gets the maximal
value,
𝑑 !
(|Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡)|2 ) =
⏞0
𝑑𝑥
𝑑 𝑎 𝑎 −2𝑥
( 2 2
)= [ 2 ]=0
𝑑𝑥 𝜋(𝑎 + 𝑥 ) 𝜋 (𝑎 + 𝑥 2 )2
This expression equals to zero when 𝑥 = 0 or 𝑥 = ±∞.
At 𝑥 = ±∞ the wavefunction approaches zero (it must be like this, or else the wavefunction cannot be
normalized).
So, the maximal value must be at 𝑥 = 0. In the area around 𝑥 = 0 is the most probable place to find the
particle. We can see this clearly from the graph of the probability density function |Ψ|2

The probability that a particle will be found in the infinitesimal interval 𝑑𝑥 about the point 𝑥 is
𝑝(𝑥) = |Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡)|2 𝑑𝑥
Therefore,

1
𝑝(𝑥 = 0) = |Ψ(0, 𝑡)|2 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑑𝑥 √
𝜋𝑎

Physics 3 (114054) -4- Class Exercise 6

c.
The probability to find the particle in a certain range of points is
𝑎
𝑝(−𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑎) = ∫ |Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡)|2 𝑑𝑥
−𝑎

𝑎 𝑎 1 𝑎1 𝑥 𝑥=𝑎 1 𝜋 𝜋
= ∫ 2 2
𝑑𝑥 = arctan | = [ − (− )]
𝜋 −𝑎 𝑎 + 𝑥 𝜋𝑎 𝑎 𝑥=−𝑎 𝜋 4 4

1
→ 𝑝(−𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑎) =
2

This means, that if we measure many times the position of particles described by this wavefunction, in
half of the measurements of the position we will find the particle in the region (−𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑎).

Exercise 2

Use the uncertainty principle to evaluate the size of the hydrogen atom.
Solution
The average energy, ⟨𝐸⟩ of an electron with average momentum ⟨𝑝⟩ at an average distance ⟨𝑟⟩ from a
proton is
⟨𝑝2 ⟩ 𝑘𝑒 2
⟨𝐸⟩ = −
2𝑚 ⟨𝑟⟩
If we take the order of magnitude of the position uncertainty as Δ𝑥 = ⟨𝑟⟩, we have from Heisenberg’s
uncertainty condition order of magnitude estimation
ℏ ℏ
Δ𝑥Δ𝑝~ℏ → Δ𝑝 = =
Δ𝑥 ⟨𝑟⟩
Additionally, the relation between the uncrtainty and the standard deviation is known from
probbability theory,
(Δ𝑝)2 = ⟨𝑝2 ⟩ − ⟨𝑝⟩2
From symmetry, because the electron moves randomly back and forth, ⟨𝑝⟩ = 0, therefore, we can
write

Physics 3 (114054) -5- Class Exercise 6

 ℏ2
(Δ𝑝)2 = ⟨𝑝2 ⟩ =
⟨𝑟⟩2
The minimal average energy is then
ℏ2 𝑘𝑒 2
⟨𝐸⟩ = −
2𝑚⟨𝑟⟩2 ⟨𝑟⟩
There is a radius 𝑟𝑚 at which ⟨𝐸⟩ is minimum.
! 𝑑⟨𝐸⟩ ℏ 𝑒2
0=
⏞ | =− +
𝑑⟨𝑟⟩ 𝑟=𝑟
𝑚
𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑚3 𝑟𝑚2

ℏ
→ 𝑟𝑚 = = 𝑎0 = 0.0529 𝑛𝑚
𝑘𝑒 2 𝑚 𝑒

And the energy at this radius is

𝑘2𝑒 4𝑚
⟨𝐸(𝑟 = 𝑎0 )⟩ = − = −13.6 𝑒𝑉
2ℏ2

Notes:

1. We got that the radius of minimal energy is exactly Bohr’s radius because we chose Δ𝑥 = ⟨𝑟⟩, instead
of choosing 2𝑟 or 𝑟/2 which are also acceptable. This is the place to point out, that every reasonable
choice of Δ𝑥 will give us the correct order of magnitude of the atom’s size. We emphasis here, that the
uncertainty principle is very useful tool to evaluate order of magnitude of physical quantities in a simple
way.

1 1
2. We used ⟨𝑟 ⟩ = ⟨𝑟⟩. In general, this equality is not correct.

Jensen inequality states that for any concave function 𝑓(𝑟) the following inequality holds,

⟨𝑓(𝑟)⟩ ≥ 𝑓(⟨𝑟⟩)

Because we’re looking for the minimal average energy, we demanded equality here.

Physics 3 (114054) -6- Class Exercise 6

Exercise 3

Although an excited atom can radiate at any time from 𝑡 = 0 to 𝑡 → ∞, the average time after excitation
at which a group of atoms radiates is called the lifetime, 𝜏, of a particular excited state.
a. For a typical lifetime of 𝜏 = 10−8 𝑠, use the uncertainty principle to estimate the line width Δ𝑓 of light
emitted by the decay of this exited state.
b. If the wavelength of the spectral line involved in this process is 𝜆 = 500 𝑛𝑚, find the fractional
broadening Δ𝑓/𝑓0 .
c. In this case, what is the spread Δ𝜆 in the wavelength of the emitted light?
Solution
a.
The uncertainty in the energy of a photon emitted corresponding to this time is
ℏ
Δ𝐸 ≥
Δ𝑡
For a photon, 𝐸 = ℎ𝑓, so
ℏ
ℎΔ𝑓 ≥
Δ𝑡
Or,

1
Δ𝑓 ≥ −8
= 1.6 × 107 𝐻𝑧
2𝜋 × 10 𝑠
b.

𝑐 3 × 108 𝑚/𝑠
𝑓0 = = = 6 × 1014 𝐻𝑧
𝜆 500 × 10−9 𝑚
Hence,

Δ𝑓 1.6 × 107 𝐻𝑧
= = 2.666 × 10−8
𝑓0 6 × 1014 𝐻𝑧

This narrow natural line width can be seen with a sensitive interferometer. Usually, however,
temperature and pressure effects overshadow the natural line width and broaden the line through
mechanisms associated with the Doppler effect and atomic collisions.

Physics 3 (114054) -7- Class Exercise 6

c.
The relation between the frequency and the wavelength is
𝑐
𝑓=
𝜆
A small change 𝑑𝑓 in frequency leads to a small change 𝑑𝜆 in wavelength,
𝑐
𝑑𝑓 = − 𝑑𝜆
𝜆2
When considering uncertainties, we are interested in the magnitude of the change, therefore
𝑐
Δ𝑓 = Δ𝜆
𝜆2
𝜆2
→ Δ𝜆 = Δ𝑓
𝑐
(500 𝑛𝑚)2
= (1.6 × 107 𝐻𝑧)
3 × 108 𝑚/𝑠

→ Δ𝜆 = 1.333 × 10−7 𝑛𝑚
The wavelength spread is indeed very small relative to the central wavelength.

Physics 3 (114054) -8- Class Exercise 6