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Problem Set 6: 2m 00 E E Ikx Ikx

This document contains the solutions to problems from a physics problem set. Problem 1 solves the Schrodinger equation for a particle in a box and discusses the solutions. Problem 2 proves that the ground state energy of a particle in a potential well is negative. Problem 3 finds the energy eigenstates of a particle in a square potential well by applying boundary conditions to the wavefunctions and plotting the solutions graphically.

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Daljot Singh Kang
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99 views

Problem Set 6: 2m 00 E E Ikx Ikx

This document contains the solutions to problems from a physics problem set. Problem 1 solves the Schrodinger equation for a particle in a box and discusses the solutions. Problem 2 proves that the ground state energy of a particle in a potential well is negative. Problem 3 finds the energy eigenstates of a particle in a square potential well by applying boundary conditions to the wavefunctions and plotting the solutions graphically.

Uploaded by

Daljot Singh Kang
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Physics 710-711-712 November 25, 2009

Problem Set 6
Problem 1: Exercise 5.1.2
In the X basis, (5.1.3) becomes

2
2m

E
= E
E
, whose solutions are = Ae
ikx
+Be
ikx
where k =

2mE. This is the solution given in the exercise. If E < 0, these solutions
are not in the Hilbert space, since then the two terms grow exponentially either as
x + or as x .
Problem 2: Exercise 5.2.2
(a) Say {|n} is the orthonormal basis of H eigenstates, so H|n = E
n
|n and 1 =

n
|nn|. Then
|H| =

n
|H|nn| =

n
E
n
|nn| =

n
E
n
|n||
2

n
E
0
|n||
2
= E
0

n
|nn| = E
0
| = E
0
.
The inequality in the second line follows because, by denition, E
0
< E
n
for all
n > 0.
(b)
E() :=

|H|

=
_

dx

(x)
_

2
2m
d
2
dx
2
|V (x)|
_

(x)
=
_

dx e
x
2
/2
_

2
2m
_
+
2
x
2

|V (x)|
_
e
x
2
/2
=
_

_

2
2m

2

_

dx |V (x)|e
x
2
_
.
By taking 0, you can make the rst (positive) term inside the parentheses as
small as you like, while the second (negative) term appraoches the nite negative
value
_
dx |V |. Thus we can make E() < 0, and therefore, by part (a), E
0
< 0.
Problem 3: Exercise 5.2.6
(1) Call x < a region I, a < x < a region II, and x > a region III. Then solving
for the energy eigenstates,

= 2m(E V (x)), of energy E V


0
in each
region gives
I
= Ae
x
+Be
x
,
II
= Ce
ikx
+De
ikx
, and
III
= Ee
x
+Fe
x
,
with =
_
2m(V
0
E) and k =

2mE. We must have A = F = 0 so


that the wave function does not grow exponentially as x . The boundary
conditions at x = a are that and

are continuous, implying


Be
a
= Ce
ika
+De
ika
,
Be
a
= ikCe
ika
ikDe
ika
,
Ee
a
= Ce
ika
+De
ika
,
Ee
a
= ikCe
ika
ikDe
ika
,
Taking the suggestion of the problem, lets look for even and odd solutions, that
is, those satisfying (x) = (x) and (x) = (x), respectively.
Even solutions: For to be even, we need B = E and C = D. The above
boundary conditions then become
Be
a
= Ce
ika
+Ce
ika
,
Be
a
= ikCe
ika
ikCe
ika
,
which can be rewritten as
_
e
a
2 cos(ka)
e
a
2k sin(ka)
__
B
C
_
= 0,
which has a solution for nonzero (B C) only if the determinant of the matrix
vansihes, implying k sin(ka) = cos(ka), which is the result we wanted.
Odd solutions: For to be even, we need B = E and C = D. The above
boundary conditions then become just two independent equations which can be
rewritten as
_
e
a
2i sin(ka)
e
a
2ik cos(ka)
__
B
C
_
= 0.
The determinant of the matrix vansihes when k cos(ka) = sin(ka), which is
the result we wanted.
(2) This part of the problem is just a plot. In the variables and dened in the
problem, (5.2.25) becomes the curve of the circle
2
+
2
= 2ma
2
V
0
/
2
. Plotting
the circle and the = tan (even states) or = cot (odd states) then
gives the plot shown below. The red (darker) curves are the odd states and the
green (lighter) ones are the even ones, and the quarter-circle is plotted for the
value 2ma
2
V
2
0
/
2
= 49. (The dotted lines just indicate the asymptotes to the
red and green curves.) Each intersection of the circle with a red or green line is a
solution, and therefore an energy eigenstate. For the value plotted in the gure,
we thus see that there are ve eigenstates.
2 3

2
3

(3) As V
0
0, the radius of the circle decreases. When it gets less than /2 it can
only intersect the leftmost green curve. Since that curve goes to the origin, no
matter how small V
0
, the circle will always intersect it, and so there will always
be at least one even solution.
When the radius equals /2, then V
0
=
2

2
/8ma
2
, and the circle intersects
the tan() curve at 0.934014 (found numerically). Since := ka and
k =

2mE, this implies E =


2

2
/2ma
2
0.46191
2
/ma
2
.

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