QUANTUM MECHANICS

 Classical mechanics (Newton's mechanics) and Maxwell's equations (electromagnetics theory)

can explain MACROSCOPIC phenomena such as motion of footballs or rockets.

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 Quantum mechanics is used to explain microscopic phenomena such as photon-atom
interaction and flow of the electrons in a semiconductor.

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 QUANTUM MECHANICS is a collection of postulates based on a huge number of

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experimental observations.

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 The differences between the classical and quantum mechanics can be understood by

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examining both

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The classical point of view "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum me

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The quantum point of view Richard Feynman.

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 Quantum particles can act as both particles and waves  WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY

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 Quantum state is a fusion of several possible outcomes of measurement of physical properties.

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 Quantum mechanics uses the language of PROBABILITY theory (random chance).
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 QUANTIZATION of energy is yet another property of "microscopic" particles.
 PHOTONS AND MATTER WAVES.

In 1905 Einstein proposed that

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Electromagnetic Radiation or Simply light

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wave is quantized and exist in Elementary

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amount (QUANTA) that we now called

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PHOTONS. For a light wave of frequency ‘f’

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and wavelength ‘λ’ the Energy ‘E’ of a

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photon is 𝑬 = 𝒉𝒇 …… (𝟏)

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‘h’ is Planck’s constant.

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Eq (1) gives the smallest amount of Energy of

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light wave having frequency ‘f’. If the wave

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have more energy, then total energy must be an

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integer multiple of hf. The light cant have an
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Energy of say 0.6hf, or 5.5hf etc.
 ELECTRON AND MATTER WAVES
DUAL NATURE OF MATTER (DE-BROGLIE HYPOTHESIS)
Light exhibits the phenomenon of

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Interference ,Diffraction , Photoelectric

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Effect and Compton Effect . The

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phenomena of Interference , diffraction can

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only be explained with the concept that light

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travels in the form of WAVES. The

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phenomenon of photoelectric effect and

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Compton effect can only be explained with

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the concept of Quantum theory of light. It

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means to say that light possess PARTICLE

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nature. Hence it is concluded that light

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exhibit DUAL NATURE namely wave RA
nature as well as particle nature.
 DE-BROGLIE WAVELENGTH
A particle of mass m moving with velocity ‘c’ possess energy given by
𝐸 = 𝑚𝑐 2 𝐸𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛 𝐸𝑞

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From Planck’s quantum theory of light, energy associated with… . . (1)
frequency f is 𝐸 = ℎ𝑓 … . (2)

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From (1) and

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Equation (3) is known as De-Broglie

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(2) ℎ𝑐
𝑚𝑐 2 = ℎ𝑓 = λ wavelength of photon .This relation is equally

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ℎ𝑐 valid for all microscopic particle having

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momentum p = mv

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ℎ
λ= = If v=0 then λ= ∞ means that waves are associated with

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𝑚𝑐ℎ 2
λ 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑣 ≈ 𝑐 moving material particles only.

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𝑚
= 𝑚𝑐 De-Broglie wave does not depend on whether the moving
𝑣

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𝒉 particle is charged or uncharged. It means matter waves are
𝝀= 𝒑 = 𝒎 𝒗 ….

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𝒑 not electromagnetic in nature.

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(𝟑)
ℎ
p
=
λ
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 Relation between De-Broglie wavelength and Kinetic 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔
energy
For an electron in an electric potential V, the  Waves associated with moving particles are
1

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energy is given by 𝐸 = 𝑒𝑉 = 2 2 called matter waves. The wavelength λ of a de-

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𝑚 𝑣𝑃 2 Broglie wave associated with particle of mass
⇒ 𝑝 = 2𝑚𝑒𝑉 = ℎ

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2 m moving with velocity v is 𝜆 = ℎ = .
𝑚 2𝑚 𝐸of De-Broglie wavelength is
The Expression 𝑝

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 Matter waves are not EM waves because
𝑚 𝑣 the
𝜆 = ℎℎ = ℎ ℎ
=

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= 2𝑚 𝑒 𝑉 de-Broglie wavelength is independent of
2𝑚 𝐸
𝑝 Charge of the moving particle.

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𝑚𝑣
FOR EXAMPLE  The velocity of the mater waves is not constant.

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An Electron moving in the potential V then The wavelength is inversely proportional to

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𝑒𝑉 = 1 𝑚 𝑣 2 the velocity of the moving particle.

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2
 Lighter the particle , longer will be the

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=𝐸
wavelength of the matter waves, velocity being

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ℎ 1 constant.
𝜆= = ℎ

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2𝑚𝑒 𝑉  For a particle at rest the wavelength

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𝑉 −92𝑚𝑒 1.22 associated with it becomes infinite. This shows
10 𝑚 ⇒ 𝜆
𝜆 = 1.226
∗ = 6 𝑉 𝑚
𝑛 RA that only moving particle produces the matter
𝑉 waves.
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e ph
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 WAVE (PHASE) VELOCITY AND GROUP VELOCITY
Wave Velocity Group Velocity (Vg)
OR

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In practice, we came across groups rather than
Phase monochromatic waves. A group consists of a number of

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Velocity (Vp)wave
When a Monochromatic waves differing slightly in frequency from one

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travels through a medium, its another.

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velocity of advancement in the The observed velocity is, however, the velocity with

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medium is called the wave which the maximum amplitude of the group advances in a

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velocity or Phase velocity (Vp). medium.

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OR So, the group velocity is the velocity with which

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Velocity of a propagation of wave the energy in the group is transmitted (Vg).

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𝒅
is the velocity of displacement of

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𝒈 𝝎
given phase. This is called phase 𝑽 = 𝒅𝒌

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or wave velocity.i.e, If all the waves forming group travels with the same phase

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𝑉𝑝 = 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = 𝜔 velocity (Vp), then group also travels with the same phase
𝑤 𝑎 𝑣 𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟
2𝜋
𝑘 RA
velocity (Vp)
Where 𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑘 = 𝜆 i.e. Phase velocity = Group Velocity
 Relation between Wave velocity and Group Velocity
𝒅𝝎 𝑽𝒑
𝑽𝒈 = 𝝎 = 𝟐𝝅𝒇 = 𝟐𝝅 In a dispersive medium 𝑉𝑝 = 𝑓(𝜆)depends

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, 𝒅𝒌 𝝀
on frequency ,i.e. 𝜔𝑘 ≠ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡

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𝒅𝝎 𝑽𝒑 𝟏 𝒅𝑽 𝒑
So, 𝜆 𝑑𝑑𝜆𝑉 𝑝 𝑠𝑝

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= 𝟐𝝅{− + 𝑖 𝑜𝑠𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑦
𝒅𝝀 𝝀𝟐
𝝀}𝒅𝝀

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𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛

gm
Again, 𝒌= 𝝀
𝟐𝝅

⇒ 𝑉 𝑔 < 𝑉𝑝 (For de-Broglie

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𝒅𝒌 𝟐𝝅
=−

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𝒅𝝀 𝝀𝟐 waves)

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In Non Dispersive medium (Such as empty

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𝒅𝝎 𝒅𝝎
𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒅𝝀 Space) 𝑝 ≠ 𝑓(𝜆)

ys
𝑽
𝒈
= = . 𝜔
𝒅𝒌 𝒅𝝀 𝑉 = 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 = 𝑉𝑝

ph
𝑽 𝟏 𝒅𝒌 𝑘
𝝀𝟐 𝑑𝑉𝑝

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𝒑
𝑽𝒈 = 𝟐𝝅 𝒅𝑽𝒑 {−

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+ 𝝀 𝒅𝝀 𝟐𝝅
− 𝝀𝟐 } ⇒ =
𝒅 RA 0 𝑑𝜆
𝑽𝒈 = − 𝝀 𝑽 𝒑
𝒅𝝀
⇒ 𝑉𝑔 = 𝑉𝑃 (For EM waves in Vacuum)
𝑽𝒑
 Phase velocity of De-Broglie’s waves
ℎ
According to De-Broglie ,the matter wave length is 𝜆 𝑚

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=

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𝑣𝒎𝒗
and wave number 𝒌 = 𝟐𝝀𝝅 = …. 𝟐𝝅
𝒉
2
( 𝟏)

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For a particle with Energy E ,Corresponding wave will have frequency 𝑓 = 𝐸 = 𝑚 𝑐
ℎ

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𝟐
ℎ
Then Angular Frequency will be 𝝎 = 𝟐𝝅𝒇 =

gm
𝟐𝝅𝒎𝒄 𝒉

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𝝎 2𝜋 𝑚 𝑐2 ℎ
= ∗
Then
… (𝟐)from (1) and (2)

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𝒌 ℎ

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2𝜋 𝑚 𝑣

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𝑽 𝒑 = 𝒄 𝟐 /𝒗

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ph
But 𝑣 (Particle velocity) is always less than c (Velocity of light) so,

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(i) Velocity of De-Broglie’s waves Vp >c (not acceptable)
(ii)De-Broglie’s waves will move faster than the particle velocity (v) and hence the waves
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would left the particle behind
 GROUP VELOCITY OF DE-BROGLIE’S WAVES
The discrepancy is resolved by postulating that a moving particle is associated

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with a “wave packet” or “wave group” Or Group of waves, rather than a

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single wave-train.

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A wave group having wavelength λ is composed of a number of component of

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waves with slightly different wavelengths in the neighborhood of λ.

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Suppose a particle of rest mass m0 moving with velocity v then associated matter

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wave will have

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𝟐
𝝎 = 𝟐𝝅𝒇 =

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𝟐𝝅 𝟐𝝅𝒎𝒗
𝟐𝝅𝒎𝒄 𝒉 and 𝒌 = =

ys
𝑚0
where 𝑚 Then, 𝝀

ph
= 1− 𝑣2

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𝑐2 𝒉

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2𝜋𝑚 0 𝑐 2 2𝜋𝑣𝑚 0
𝜔 & K
= ℎ 1− 𝑣2
2 RA = 2
ℎ 1− 𝑣2
𝑐 𝑐
Differentiating W.R.T Velocity v
𝑑𝜔 2𝜋𝑚0𝑣

)
= ………

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𝑑𝑣
ℎ 1 𝑣2 3/2
(1)

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− 𝑐2

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2𝜋 𝑚
……….(2)

gm
0
𝑑𝑘
𝑑𝑣 = 𝑣2 3 /2
ℎ
𝑐2

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1−
Dividing (1) by (2) we get

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𝒅

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𝝎 =𝒗 =
𝒅𝒌

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𝑽 𝒈 particle also moves with the velocity
Group of waves associated with a moving

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of the particle (𝑣).

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Moving particle ≡ wave packet or wave group or Group of waves
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Moving of an Electron is an example of wave packet or Group of waves.
 HEISENBERG'S UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE (Big Rules for Small Particles)
It states that only one of the “position” or “momentum” can be measured accurately
at a single moment within the instrumental limit. OR

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It is impossible to measure both the position and momentum simultaneously
with unlimited accuracy.

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∆𝑥 →uncertainty in position

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∆𝑝𝑥→ uncertainty in momentum (Along x- axis).

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ℎ
Then ∆𝒙. ∆𝒑 𝒙 ≥ ℏ ∴ℏ

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𝟐 2
=
The product of ∆𝑥 & ∆𝑝 𝑥 of an object is greater than or equal to 𝜋

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2

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ℏ
If ∆𝑥 is measured accurately i.e.∆𝑥 → 0 ⇒ ∆𝑝𝑥→ ∞

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The principle applies to all canonically conjugate pairs of quantities

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in which measurement of one quantity affects the capacity to

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measure the other.

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Like, energy E and time t. ∆𝑬. ∆𝒕≥ ℏ𝟐
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and angular momentum L and angular position θ ∆𝑳. ∆𝜽 ≥
ℏ
𝟐
Some Numericals

1. A proton and an Alpha particle have the same KE. a) How do their speeds compare? b ) How do

)
their momenta compare? c) How do their de-Broglie wavelengths compare? Answers:Vp=2Valpha ,

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Pp = ½ Palpha wavelength (proton)= 2 wavelength (alpha).

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2. the wavelength associated with electrons whose speed is 0.01 the speed of light.(Ans=2.4*10-10
m).

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3. Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of an Alpha particle accelerated by a PD of 25000 Volts.

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(Ans
= 6.390*10-14m)

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4. A proton is confined to a nucleus of radius 5*10-15m. Calculate the minimum uncertainty in its

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momentum. Also calculate the minimum KE the proton should have. The Proton mass is

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1.67*10- 27kg.(Ans=1.05*10-20kgm/s and 0.2 Mev)

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5. A bullet of mass 25grams is moving with a speed of 400m/s. The speed is measured accurate up

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to

ph
0.02%. Calculate the certainty with which the position of the bullet can be located.
(Ans=5.25*10-

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32m).
− 24 𝑘 𝑔 𝑚 − 23 𝑘 𝑔 𝑚 ∆𝑝
ℎ
6.∆𝑝 Compare the1.054
uncertainties
= = ∗ 10 in the velocities
, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝 =of 2an𝑚𝑒𝑉
RA electron and proton
= 1.708 ∗ 10 confined, in a∗ 100 =
10A 2𝜋∆𝑥
0 Box.(Ans=1.16*105m/s 𝑠and 63m/s).
6.173%. 𝑠 𝑝
7. The Position and momentum of a 1 KeV electron are simultaneously determined.If its
Does the concept of Bohr orbit Violet the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle?

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According to Bohr , an electron in an atom revolves in one of the quantized

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orbits.
The electron energy 𝐸 = 𝑒2 . An atomic electron can have only

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𝑛 8𝜋𝜀0𝑟𝑛
− these
energies and no others i.e. ∆𝐸 = 0. According to uncertainty relation ∆𝐸. ∆𝑡 ℎ .

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2
≥
Therefore ∆𝑡 must be infinite which means that all energy states of the atom 𝜋

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must have an infinite lifetime. But we know that the excited states of the atom

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from which radiation occurs do not last indefinitely and the life time is of the

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order of 10-8 sec. Thus the concept of Bohr orbit violets the uncertainty principle.

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 SCHRÖDINGER WAVE EQUATION
Schrödinger’s equation is to quantum mechanics what Newton’s second law of motion is

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to classical mechanics: it describes how a physical system, say a bunch of particles
subject to certain forces, will change over time.

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In classical mechanics what you’re after are the positions and momenta of all particles

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at
every time, that gives you a full description of the system.

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In Classical mechanics the wave equation for a particle moving along +Ve x-axis

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𝟐
(1-
Dimensional) is written as

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𝟏 𝒅𝟐𝒚(𝒙,𝒕)
𝟐 ……(𝟏)

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𝒅 𝒚(𝒙𝒕,) 𝒅𝒙 𝟐 𝟐 𝒅𝒕
=
The solution
𝒗
to this wave equation (1) can be written as 𝑦 = 𝐴𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝑤𝑡 − 𝑘𝑥)

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In exponential form it is written as 𝒚 = 𝑨𝒆−𝒊(𝝎𝒕−𝒌𝒙) …… . (𝟐)

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ph
But in quantum mechanics this equation (1) do not describe the motion of Quantum particle.

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The wave equation which describes the motion of quantum particle contains ENERGY,
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MOMENTUM, POSITION etc. The displacement wave function (2) is replaced by
wave function ′ 𝝍 ′ to describe the wave and particle nature in quantum mechanics.
For quantum particle the wave function written as,
𝑬 𝒑
ℎ
𝝍 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝑨𝒆 −(
𝒊 ℏ𝒕−ℏ𝒙)
…… … (3), With 𝐸 = 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃 = ℏ𝑘 ,, ℏ 2
.

)
ℏ𝜔
Differentiating Eq (3) TWICE w. r. t. ‘x’, we get =

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𝜋

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𝒅 𝟐 𝝍(𝒙, 𝒕) 𝑷𝟐

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=− 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒕…… .
𝒅𝒙 (4)

gm
𝟐 𝟐
ℏ 2
For a particle with total Energy ‘E’, 𝐸 = 𝐾 𝐸 + 𝑃𝐸 ⟹ 𝐸 =

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𝑃 2
𝑷 𝟐 = 𝟐 𝒎 𝑬 − 𝑽 …… . + 𝑉 𝑚

7
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(𝟓)

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From Equation
𝑑 𝜓(𝑥, 𝑡)
2 (4) and (5) ℏ 𝟐

ys
= − 𝐸 − 𝑉 𝜓 𝑥, 𝑡 𝒅 𝟐 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒕
+ 𝑽 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝑬 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒕 …
2𝑚𝑑𝑥2 ℏ2 ⇒−

ph
𝟐 𝒎 (6)
Eq (6) is the Schrödinger TIME INDEPENDENT
n wave equation in One dimension.

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𝒅𝒙 𝟐

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IN THREE DIMENSION IT BECOMES,
ℏ𝟐 𝝏 𝟐 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 𝝏 𝟐 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 𝝏 𝟐 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕
RA
− + + 𝑽 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 = 𝑬 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕
𝟐 𝝏𝒙𝟐 𝝏𝒚 𝟐 𝝏𝒛𝟐
+
 FOR TIME DEPENDENT SCHRODINGER WAVE EQUATION
𝑬 𝒑
We have from Equation (3) 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝑨𝒆−𝒊(ℏ𝒕−ℏ𝒙)
Differentiating it w r to time ‘t’,

)
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𝑑𝜓(𝑥, 𝑡) 𝑖 𝑬
𝑑𝑡 = 𝐸𝑨𝒆 −𝒊(ℏ𝒕−𝒑ℏ𝒙)
ℏ

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−
𝑑𝜓(𝑥, 𝑡) = − 𝑖 𝐸 𝝍
ℏ

ai
𝑑𝑡 𝒙, 𝒕

gm
𝑬 𝝍 𝒙, = 𝒊ℏ𝒅𝝍(𝒙,𝒕) … . . 𝟕
𝒅𝒕
From𝒕 equation (6) and (7)

@
𝟐

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ℏ 𝒅 𝟐 𝝍 𝒙,𝒕
We get − + 𝑽 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝑬 𝝍 𝒙,

s7
ℏ 𝟐 𝒅 𝝍 𝟐𝒙,𝒕
𝟐𝒎 𝒅𝒙𝟐
𝒕
−

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+ 𝑽 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝒊ℏ 𝒅𝝍(𝒙,𝒕) (In One Dimension)
𝟐𝒎 𝒅𝒙 𝟐 𝒅𝒕

ys
IN THREE DIMENSION SCHRODINGER TIME DEPENDENT WAVE EQUATION IS,

ph
ℏ 𝟐 𝝏 𝟐 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 𝝏 𝟐 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 𝝏 𝟐 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 𝒅𝝍(𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕)
+ + + 𝑽 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 = 𝒊ℏ

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𝝏𝒙 𝟐 𝝏𝒚𝟐 𝝏𝒛𝟐 𝒅𝒕

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−

𝟐 𝒎ℏ𝟐
− 𝛁 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 + 𝑽 𝝍 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 = 𝒊ℏ
𝟐
RA
𝑑𝜓(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡)
𝟐 𝑑𝑡
 WAVE FUNCTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
The probability that a particle will be found at a given place in space at given instant of
time is characterized by a function called wave function ψ(x,y,z,t). This wave function is the

)
om
solution of Schrodinger wave equation. This function can be complex or real. The only
quantity having physical meaning is the square of its Magnitude. i. e.𝑃 = 𝜓 2= 𝜓 𝜓 ∗

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The quantity P is called probability density.

ai
gm
Thus if 𝜓 = A+ iB then 𝜓 * = A- iB then 𝜓 2= 𝜓 * 𝜓 = A2 - i2B2 = A2 + B2
probability of finding the particle within an element of2 volume dx,dy,dz is 𝜓 2dx,dy,dz

@
𝜓 dx,dy,dz = 1 ∴ 𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑛
Since the particle is definitely be somewhere, so‫∞׬‬ −∞

7
 A wave function that obeys this equation is said to be normalized wave function.

s7
 It must be finite everywhere.

ic
 It must be single valued and must be continuous and have a continuous first

ys
derivative i.e, 𝑑 𝜓

ph
everywhere 𝑑 𝑥 ,𝑑 𝑦
must be continuous
𝑑𝑧

e
 Wave function 𝜓(x, y, z, t) must approach to zero when x⟶ ±∞.

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𝑑𝜓 𝑑𝜓
If 𝝍 𝟏 𝒙 , 𝝍 𝟐 𝒙 , 𝝍 𝟑, ( 𝒙 ) …… 𝝍 𝒏 ( 𝒙 ) are the solution of Schrodinger wave equation
then their linear combination 𝝍(x)= 𝝍 𝟏 𝒙RA +𝝍 𝟐 𝒙 ,+𝝍𝟑 𝒙 ,+…….
+𝝍𝒏 𝒙 ,must also be the solution of Schrödinger wave equation.
FREE PARTICLE IN A BOX (INFINITE POTENTIAL WELL IN 1-
DIMENSION)
an application of Schrodinger wave equation.

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gm
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ys
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RA
RA
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e ph
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RA
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 WAVE FUNCTION

RA
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e ph
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gm
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RA
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A particle is moving in 1-D box (Infinite potential box) of width 10A0.Calculate the
Probability of finding the particle within an interval of 1A0,at the center of the box when
it is in its states of least energy.

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om
Solution:
Least energy states = Ground state i.e. n=1.

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2
𝜓 = Sinπx/L, since n=1

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𝐿

gm
The probability of finding the particle in unit interval at the center of the box (i.e x=L/2)
2
2

@
is P = ψ 2 = Sin(πL/2)/L 2
=L (Probability Density)
𝐿

7
The probability of finding the particle within the interval of dx=1A0 at the center of the

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box is

ic
ys
2
𝑊 =ψ 𝑑𝑥 = 𝐿 ∗ 2

ph
but 𝐿 = 10𝐴0 1𝐴0
2

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Then, 𝑊 ∗ 1𝐴0 = 0.2(Answer)

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10
= 𝐴
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 TUNNELING EFFECT
If a particle with energy E less than height of the potential barrier

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(U) i.e.,(E<U) with small width ‘L’ strikes, it is not necessary that

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the particle reflected totally from the barrier rather there is still

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the probability that particle tunnels and appears in next region

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with U=0.This effect is known as TUNNELING EFFECT.

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In the language of quantum mechanics, the hill is characterized

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by a POTENTIAL BARRIER. A finite-height square barrier

7
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is described by the following potential-energy function:

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ys
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RA
When both the width and the height (U0) are finite, a part of the quantum wave packet
incident on one side of the barrier can penetrate the barrier boundary and continue its

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motion inside the barrier, where it is gradually attenuated on its way to the other side. A

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part of the incident quantum wave packet eventually emerges on the other side of the

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barrier in the form of the transmitted wave packet that tunneled through the barrier. How

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much of the incident wave can tunnel through a barrier depends on the barrier width L

gm
and its height (U0), and on the energy E of the quantum particle incident on the barrier.
This is the physics of tunneling.

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TUNNELING AND THE WAVE FUNCTION

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Suppose a uniform and time-independent beam of electrons or other quantum particles with

ic
energy traveling along the x-axis (in the positive direction to the right) encounters a potential

ys
barrier described by above Equation.

ph
The question is: What is the probability that an individual particle in the beam will

e
tunnel through the potential barrier? The answer can be found by solving the boundary-

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value problem for the time-independent Schrödinger equation for a particle in the beam.
RA
The general form of this equation is reproduce here:
 𝟐 𝒅 𝟐𝝍 𝒙,𝒕
⇒− + 𝑼𝟎 𝝍
𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝑬 𝝍 𝒙, …
𝒕 𝟏 −∞ < 𝑥 < and E<U0.
ℏ 𝟐 𝒎 𝒅𝒙 𝟐 +∞,
Where,
Denoting by 𝝍𝒊 𝒙 the solution in region I for x<0 , by 𝝍𝒊 𝒙 the solution in region II for 0

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≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝐿 , and by 𝝍𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒙 the solution in region III for x >L , the stationary Schrödinger
equation has the following forms in these three regions:

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gm
ℏ𝟐 𝒅 𝟐 𝝍 𝒊 𝒙, 𝒕
− = 𝑬𝝍 𝒊 𝒙, 𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏 (𝑰)

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𝟐 𝒅𝒙 𝟐

7
𝒎

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ℏ𝟐 𝒅𝟐𝝍𝒊𝒊 𝒙, 𝒕
− + 𝑼𝟎𝝍𝒊𝒊 𝒙, 𝒕 = 𝑬𝝍𝒊𝒊 𝒙, 𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑰𝑰

ic
𝟐 𝒅𝒙 𝟐

ys
𝒎

ph
𝟐 𝟐 𝒙, 𝒕
− ℏ 𝒅 𝝍𝒊𝒊𝒊 = 𝑬𝝍𝒊 𝒙, 𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏 (𝑰𝑰𝑰)

e
𝟐 𝒅𝒙𝟐

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𝒎
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The corresponding Solution to theses above equations
are

)
𝝍𝒊 𝒙 = 𝑨𝒆𝒊𝒌𝒙 + 𝑩𝒆−𝒊𝒌𝒙 …𝟐 𝒎

om
𝝍𝒊𝒊𝒊 𝒙 =… 𝑭𝒆(𝒊𝒌𝟐𝒙 )+ 𝑮𝒆−𝒊𝒌𝒙. . . . (𝟑) 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒌 = 𝑬ℏ

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𝟐 𝒎 𝟎

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𝝍𝒊 𝒊
𝒙 = 𝑪𝒆−𝜷𝒙 + 𝑫𝒆+𝜷𝒙 … . (𝟒), 𝑾𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆 , 𝜷𝟐 = 𝟐 (𝑼
ℏ

gm
− 𝑬)

@
In region I, there are two waves—one is incident (moving to the right) and one is reflected

7
(moving to the left)—so none of the constants A and B in Equation (2) may vanish. In region

s7
III, there is only one wave (moving to the right), which is the transmitted wave, so the

ic
ys
constant

ph
(G) must
𝒙 =be𝑨𝒆zero
𝒊𝒌𝒙 in Equation (3) G=0 . We can write explicitly that the incident wave is
𝝍𝒊𝒏𝒄
and that the reflected wave is

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𝒙 = 𝑩𝒆−𝒊𝒌𝒙,
𝝍 𝒓𝒆𝒇
and that the transmitted wave is RA
𝝍
𝒙 = 𝑭𝒆𝒊𝒌𝒙 .
𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏
 )
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gm
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The TRANSMISSION PROBABILITY or TUNNELING PROBABILITY is the

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ratio of the transmitted intensity ( |F|2) to the incident intensity (|A|2 ), written as

ic
ys
𝐅𝟐
𝐓 𝐋, 𝐄 …… (𝟓),
𝟐

ph
𝐀
=
where L is the width of the barrier and E is the total energy of the particle. This is the

e
probability an individual particle in the incident beam will tunnel through the

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potential barrier U0. Intuitively, we understand that this probability must depend on
the barrier height U0. RA
The Boundary Conditions for the waves
in different regions are,
𝝍𝒊 𝟎 = 𝝍𝒊 𝟎 …… . (𝟓)

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𝒅𝝍 𝒊 𝒙 𝒅𝝍𝒊𝒊 𝒙

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= , 𝒂𝒕 𝒙 = 𝟎 …… . . (𝟔)
𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙

ai
gm
𝑳 𝑳 …… .
𝝍𝒊𝒊 = 𝝍𝒊𝒊

@
(𝟕)
Using Boundary conditions we obtained as ,
𝒅𝝍 𝒙 𝒅𝝍 𝒙

7
𝑨 + 𝑩 = 𝑪 + 𝑫 … (𝟗)

s7
𝒊𝒊 𝒊𝒊𝒊
𝒅=𝒙 , 𝒂𝒕 𝒙 =
𝒅 𝒙𝑳 …… . (𝟖)

ic
ys
−𝒊𝒌 𝑨 − 𝑩 =𝜷 𝑫 − 𝑪 …
(𝟏𝟎)

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𝑪𝒆−𝜷𝑳 + 𝑫𝒆+𝜷𝑳 = 𝑭𝒆+𝒊𝒌𝑳 … (𝟏𝟏)
RA
𝜷 𝑫𝒆 + 𝜷𝑳 − 𝑪𝒆−𝜷𝑳 = +𝒊𝒌𝑭𝒆 +𝒌𝒊𝑳… (𝟏𝟐)
 We now have four equations for five unknown constants. However, because the
quantity we are after is the transmission coefficient ( T), defined in Equation (5) by

)
𝟐

om
𝐅
the fraction , the number of equations is exactly right because when we divide
𝟐
𝐀
each of the above equations by (A) , we end up having only four unknown fractions:

l.c
B/A , C/A ,D/A , and F/A, three of which can be eliminated to find F/A . The actual

ai
algebra that leads to expression for F/A is pretty lengthy, but it can be done either by

gm
hand or with a help of computer software. The end result is

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s7
ic
ys
e ph
(io
We see that the tunneling effect very strongly depends on the width (L) of the potential barrier.
RA
 Example: Barrier Tunneling
Let’s consider a tunneling

)
problem:

om
An electron with a total energy of Eo= 6 eV
V0
approaches a potential barrier with a height of

l.c
Eo
V0 = 12 eV. If the width of the barrier is

ai
metal metal
L = 0.18 nm, what is the probability that the

gm
0 L air x
electron will tunnel through the barrier?

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gap

7
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ic
ys
e ph
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RA
Question: What will T be if we double the width of the gap?
SUMMARY;
Generally the term QUANTUM TUNNELING refers to any situation in which a

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particle overcomes a potential barrier that it should not be able to overcome
according to classical physics. Quantum tunneling does occur in nature, for

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example in when URANIUM decays to thorium in a form of radioactive decay

ai
known

gm
as ALPHA DECAY. Here the atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle (which
consists of two protons and two neutrons and is structurally identical to a helium

@
nucleus). According to classical physics, the process of emitting the particle should

7
be impossible, as it requires more energy than the atom has available. It's through

s7
quantum tunneling that the atom accomplishes the feat.

ic
ys
eph
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RA