Serway Chapter - 41
Serway Chapter - 41
Serway Chapter - 41
Quantum Mechanics
Probability – A Particle
Interpretation
From the particle point of view, the
probability per unit volume of finding a
photon in a given region of space at an
instant of time is proportional to the
number N of photons per unit volume at
that time and to the intensity
Probability N
I
V V
Probability – A Wave
Interpretation
From the point of view of a wave, the
intensity of electromagnetic radiation is
proportional to the square of the electric
field amplitude, E
2
I E
Combining the points of view gives
Probability 2
E
V
Probability – Interpretation
Summary
For electromagnetic radiation, the probability
per unit volume of finding a particle
associated with this radiation is proportional
to the square of the amplitude of the
associated em wave
The particle is the photon
The amplitude of the wave associated with
the particle is called the probability
amplitude or the wave function
The symbol is ψ
Wave Function
The complete wave function ψ for a
system depends on the positions of all
the particles in the system and on time
The function can be written as ψ(r1, r2, …
rj…., t) = ψ(rj)e-iωt
rj is the position of the jth particle in the system
ω = 2πƒ is the angular frequency
i 1
Wave Function, cont.
The wave function is often complex-valued
The absolute square |ψ|2 = ψψ is always real
and positive
ψ* is the complete conjugate of ψ
It is proportional to the probability per unit volume
of finding a particle at a given point at some
instant
The wave function contains within it all the
information that can be known about the
particle
Wave Function, General
Comments, Final
The probabilistic interpretation of the
wave function was first suggested by
Max Born
Erwin Schrödinger proposed a wave
equation that describes the manner in
which the wave function changes in
space and time
This Schrödinger wave equation represents a
key element in quantum mechanics
Wave Function of a Free
Particle
The wave function of a free particle moving
along the x-axis can be written as ψ(x) = Aeikx
k = 2πλ is the angular wave number of the wave
representing the particle
A is the constant amplitude
If ψ represents a single particle, |ψ|2 is the
relative probability per unit volume that the
particle will be found at any given point in the
volume
|ψ|2 is called the probability density
Wave Function of a Free
Particle, cont.
In general, the probability
of finding the particle in a
volume dV is |ψ|2 dV
With one-dimensional
analysis, this becomes |ψ|
2
dx
The probability of finding
the particle in the arbitrary
interval a x b is
b 2
P ψ dx
ab
a
and is the area under the
curve
Wave Function of a Free
Particle, Final
Because the particle must be
somewhere along the x axis, the sum of
all the probabilities over all values of x
must be 1
2
Pab ψ dx 1
nπx 2 nπx
ψn (x ) A sin sin
L L L
The second expression is the normalized wave function
These match the original results for the particle in a box
Simple Harmonic Oscillator
Reconsider black body radiation as
vibrating charges acting as simple
harmonic oscillators
The potential energy is
U = ½ kx2 = ½ mω2x2
Its total energy is
K + U = ½ kA2 = ½ mω2A2
Simple Harmonic Oscillator, 2
The Schrödinger equation for this
problem is
2 d 2ψ 1 2 2
2
mω x ψ Eψ
2m dx 2
The solution of this equation gives the
wave function of the ground state as
mω 2 x 2
ψ Be
Simple Harmonic Oscillator, 3
The remaining solutions that describe the
excited states all include the exponential
function 2
Cx
e
The energy levels of the oscillator are
quantized
The energy for an arbitrary quantum number
n is En = (n + ½)where n = 0, 1, 2,…
Energy Level Diagrams –
Simple Harmonic Oscillator
The brown curves
represent probability
densities for the first
three states
The blue curves
represent the
classical probability
densities
corresponding to the
same energies
Energy Levels in the
Harmonic Oscillator
The state n = 0 corresponds to the ground
state
The energy is Eo = ½ ω
The state n = 1 is the first excited state
The separations between adjacent levels are
equal and are given by E = ω
As n increases, the agreement between the
classical and the quantum-mechanical results
improve