PHY 314: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, Varsha 2014

Lecture 13
Anil Shaji
School of Physics, IISER - TVM
(Dated: 15-Sep-2014)

The quantum free particle

The free particle ought to be the simplest problem to solve but as we will see it is a bit tricky
and subtle. The time independent Sch
odinger equation is

~2 d2
= E.
2m dx2

We can reduce this to

d2
= k 2 ,
dx2

2mE
.
~

The general solution is

(x) = Aeikx + Beikx ,
where we have written the solution as exponentials rather than sines and cosines even if the
equation is the same as the one for the particle in a box in the region where the potential is zero.
The boundary conditions do not restrict the values of k and so all possible values of energy are
allowed. The time dependence of the stationary states is given by
~k

~k

(x, t) = Aeik(x 2m t) + Beik(x+ 2m t) .

Any function of x and t where the only combination xvt appears represents a plane wave solution
traveling at a constant speed v in the x direction. So the first term in the above solution represents
a wave going to the right and the second one to a wave traveling to the left. Since the two differ
only by a sign in front of k we can write
~k2

k (x, t) = Aei(kx 2m t) ,
letting k be negative as well:

k=

2mE
,
~

with k > 0 representing waves traveling to the right and k < 0 representing waves traveling to the
left. The speed of these waves is
r
~|k|
E
vquantum =
=
.
2m
2m

2
Contrast with the speed of classical particle with energy E:
r
2E
vclassical =
= 2vquantum .
m
Notice that this wave function is not normalizable:
Z
Z +

2
1 dx = .
k k dx = |A|

This mess that there is no such thing as a free particle with a definite energy!
The stationary solutions (which are also separable between x and t) are not completely useless.
We can use them to construct general solutions that are normalizable. Since k is now a continuous
index, let us write the general solution as
Z
~k2
1
(k)ei(kx 2m t) dk.
(x, t) =
2

The factor of 1/ 2 is taken out for convenience and for proper choices of (k) the solution can
be normalized. The normalizable solution requires a range of k and we call such solutions wave
packets.
We find (k) as a simple Fourier transform of the initial wave packet (x, 0), since
Z
1
(k)eikx dk,
(x, 0) =
2
so that
1
(k) =
2

(x, 0)eikx dx.

We can view the wave packet as an envelop with oscillation inside as shown in the figure below:

FIG. 1: Wave packet

The waves inside moves with the phase velocity vquantum while the packet as a whole goes with
a group velocity given by
r


d
d ~k 2
~k
2E
vgroup =
=
=
=
.
dk
dk 2m
m
m

3
The delta function potential

The particle in a box and the harmonic oscillation potential allowed only bound states as
solutions while the free particle was completely free and the solutions of the time independent
Schrodinger equation extended from to +. Classically it is easy to guess when the solutions
will be bounded and when it will not be as illustrated in the figures below.

FIG. 2: Classical turning points

In the quantum case, things are actually a bit cleaner and we get bound and scattering states
only depending on the value of the potential at infinity. In other words, if E is less than the
potential at V () and V (+) then we get a bound state while if E is greater than the value of
the potential at infinity then we get a scattering state. In most cases V goes to zero at infinity so
then if E < 0 we get a bound state and if E 0 we have a scattering state.
To see a scattering state clearly, let us look at the delta function potential:
V (x) = (x).
The Schrodinger equation reads

~2 d2
(x) = E.
2m dx2

4
For E < 0 we can have bound states and for E > 0 we can have scattering states. Let us looks at
the bound states first,
In the region x < 0, V (x) = 0 and so we have

2mE
d2
2mE
2
= 2 = ,
=
.
dx2
~
~
We have assumed that E < 0 and so is real and positive. The general solution is
(x) = Aex + Bex .
Since the first term blows up at x we must choose A = 0;
(x) = Bex ,

(x < 0).

In the x > 0 region we again have

(x) = F ex + Gex .
We have to set G = 0 since otherwise the solution blows up. So for x > 0 we have
(x) = F ex ,

(x > 0).

We now have to stitch these two functions together, using appropriate boundary conditions. At
x = 0 we have
1. is alway continuous
2. d/dx is continuous except at points were the potential is infinite.
The first boundary condition tells us that F = B. So
(
Bex ,
(x) =
Bex ,

(x 0),
(x 0).

)
.

The second boundary condition will not tell us anything. So far the delta function has not entered
really into the picture at all. It will eventually determine the discontinuity in the derivative of the
wave function at x = 0. To see this, let us integrate the Schrodinger equation from  to  and
then take the limit as  0:
Z + 2
Z +
Z +
d
~2

dx +
V (x)(x)dx = E
(x)dx.
2m  dx2


The first integral is the difference between d/dx evaluated at the two end points giving the
discontinuity in the derivative as  0, the last integral is zero in the same limit and so we get
 
Z +
2m
d

= 2 lim
V (x)(x)dx.
dx
~ 0 
Normally the limit on the right side is zero but with a delta function we get
 
d
2m

= 2 (0).
dx
~

5
So we have
d
= Bex , rmf or (x > 0),
dx
d
= +Bex , rmf or (x < 0),
dx


d 
so
= Bx
dx +

d 
= +Bx
so
dx 

Hence


dx


= 2B.

Using (0) = B we have

=

m
,
~2

and the allowed energy is

E=

~2 2
m2
= 2 .
2m
2~

After normalizing we get

B=

m
.
~

The delta function, regardless of its strength allows a single bound state:

m m|x|/~2
m2
e
;
E= 2 .
(x) =
~
2~

6
For E > 0, the Schr
odinger equation for x < 0 is
d2
= k 2 ,
dx2

2mE
.
~

The general solution is

(x) = Aeikx + Beikx .
Neither term blows up and so we keep both. Similarly for x > 0 we have
(x) = F eiix + Geikx .
The continuity of the wave function at x = 0 requires
F + G = A + B.
The continuity of the derivative means
d
= ik(F eikx Geikx ),
dx

for (x > 0),

d
= ik(Aeikx Beikx ),
dx

for (x < 0),


d 
= ik(F G),
so
dx +

d 
so
= ik(A B).
dx 

So


dx


= ik(F G A + B),

with
(0) = A + B = F + G.
So the second boundary condition gives
ik(F G A + B) =

2m
(A + B),
~2

or
F G = A(1 + 2i) B(1 2i),

m
.
~2 k

We have two equations for four unknowns. Coupled with the time evolution factor eiEt/~ we
know that eikx represents waves traveling to the right and left respectively as shown in the figure
below:
In typical scattering experiments, the incident particles is from the left and there is no incident
wave from the right. So we can set G = 0 since G represents the amplitude of the wave traveling
from right to left from the x > 0 side. A is the amplitude of the incoming wave and so we treat
it as a variable and find B and F in terms of A. So we get the amplitude of the reflected wave B
and that of the transmitted wave, F as
B=

i
A,
1 i

F =

1
A.
1 i

FIG. 3: Incident and reflected waves

The relative probability that an incident particle is reflected back is

R

|B|2
2
=
,
|A|2
1 + 2

where R is the reflection coefficient. Similarly the transmission coefficient is

T

|F |2
1
=
.
2
|A|
1 + 2

Note that
R + T = 1.