Origin of Quantum Physics

Upto the end of 19th Century Physics was essentially classical physics: Newtonian
Physics, Maxwell electromagnetic theory, thermodynamics.

Classically Wave & Particle two different entities

Challenge to classical physics started in beginning of 20th century.

There are discoveries which could not be explained within the frame work of
classical physics.

Black body radiation, photoelectric effect etc.

 Blackbody radiation

Planck’s law
UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE
Wave function, ψ: The quantity whose variation makes matter
wave is know as wave function.

Probability of finding particle lies between 0 (object is not

there) to 1 (object is definitely there).

Suppose probability is 0.2 i.e. 20 %.

…means you have 20 % chances of finding particle
but amplitude of wave can be negative .

So, wave function, ψ, has no physical significance.

However, the square of the wave function, |ψ|2 is always

positive and it describe the probability of finding the particle
and has physical significance.
The wave functions are usually complex with both real and complex parts.

The probability is however is always a positive quantity.

The probability density |Ψ|2 is defined as the product Ψ Ψ*of Ψ and its complex
conjugate Ψ*.

Wave function:

Its complex conjugate is:

Probability density is:

The fact that the square of wave function gives us the probability
of finding the particle in some region of space is known as Born’s
Interpretation of probability density.
Normalisation of wave function: A wave function is said to be
Normalized if it satisfy the following condition

Since the square of wave function give the probability of finding the
particle it means according to above equation particle is definitely
there.

Every acceptable wave function can be normalized by multiplying

with suitable constant known as normalization constant.
 Well behaved or acceptable wave function:

If The particle does not exist

cannot be negative or complex because of the way it is defined

If a particle restricted to motion in the x direction,

the probability of finding it between x1 and x2 is
 Schrodinger Wave Equation:
We have discussed about wave function Ψ.
What does it in actual?
It is defined as Schrodinger wave Equation.

It is the fundamental equation of quantum mechanics in the same sense that

the second law of motion is the fundamental equation of Newtonian
mechanics.
The solution of that wave equation helps us to know the value
of wave function and hence we can find different physical
quantities from wave function as a function of space or time.

We shall discuss:

Schrodinger Time Dependent Wave Equation.

Schrodinger Time Independent Wave Equation.

 A standing wave is the wave produced in a string fastened at both ends

The solution for this equation is

where F is any function that can be differentiated. The solutions

represent waves traveling in the positive x direction,

and the solutions

represent waves traveling in the negative x direction.

Let us consider the wave equivalent of a “free particle,” which is a particle that is
not under the influence of any forces

The solution of this equation is

The real part has significance in the case of waves in a stretched string.
In quantum mechanics, the particle is expresses as a group of
waves called wave packet.

Group velocity : A group of waves need not have the same velocity as
the waves themselves.

Phase velocity :
 Schrodinger Time Dependent Wave Equation:
A basic physical principle that cannot be derived from anything else

To get the Schrodinger’s time dependent wave equation, we

consider the wave function Ψ which describe the particle of
following form:
-------------(1)

Note that we considered the complex wave function. Above

equation says that the motion is in x-direction and v is the
velocity of the particle.

Using ω = 2πν and υ = νλ, above Eq. becomes,

-------------(2)
 It is convenient to write the wave function in terms of the total energy E and
momentum p.

We know that:

-------------(3)

By using above relations:

-------------(4)

where E is the energy of the particle and p is the momentum of the particle.
Eq. (4) describe a free particle which is not restricted by any external force.

But in actual problem we deals with the particle motion which are restricted by some
kind of force.

For example the motion of electron around the nucleus. The electron is bound to the
atom by the electric field of the nucleus.
To deal with such cases we need to find a differential Eq. for the
wave function Ψ which we can solve for Ψ in a specific situation.

To get the form of this Eq. we differentiate Eq. (4) w.r.t. x twice

-----------(5)

Differentiate Eq.(4) w.r.t. t , we get

-----------(6)
 At speeds small compared to the speed of the light, the total energy of the
particle is the sum of K.E. and potential energy

-------------(7)

Here, it is important to mention that potential energy is function of x and t.

Multiplying Eq. (7) by Ψ, we get

-------------(8)

Using (5) and (6) in (8) we get,

-------------(9)

Eq. (9) is known as Schrodinger time Dependent Wave Equation in one dimension.
In three dimensions, it can be written as

It is important to note here that the potential energy U

is some function of x, y, z, and t

Any external restriction or force will effect the function U, so

once U is known one can solve the Schrödinger wave Eq. to get
the wave function of the particle and hence the probability
density may be determined for a particular position and
time.
 LINEARITY AND SUPERPOSITION

It is linear in the wave function

If slit 1 only is open, the result is the
intensity variation
 EXPECTATION VALUES

Once Schrödinger’s equation has been solved for a particle in a given physical situation, the
resulting wave function (x, y, z, t) contains all the information about the particle that is
permitted by the uncertainty principle.

Except for those variables that are quantized this information is in the form of
probabilities and not specific numbers

Expectation value is denoted by

The average position x of a number of identical particles distributed along the x axis in
such a way that there are N1 particles at x1, N2 particles at x2, and so on?
The average position in this case is the same as the center of mass of the distribution, and
so

If  is a normalized wave function, then 1

For a general function G(x) e.g. U(x) we write the expectation value as:

Because according to the uncertainty principles, no such function as

p(x) can exist
Question:
 For a general function G(x) e.g. U(x)

The expectation value:

Because according to the uncertainty principles, no such

function as p(x) can exist
Operators (Another way to find the expectation values):

Here, we will discuss that how we find the expectation value of

and
We know that the wave function for free particle is

----------(1)

where E is the energy and p is the momentum of the particle.

Now we differentiate Eq. (1) w.r.t.

-----------(2)

-------------(3)
 By rearranging the equations, we get

----------(4)

---------(5)

Above Eqns. tells us that the dynamical quantities p and E are related
to the differential operators and respectively.

An operators tell us that what operation we are going to perform on the

quantity which is following it.
The operators are represented by using a caret

is an operator of momentum p

is an operator that corresponds to total energy E

---------(6)

-----------(7)

Total energy: ---------(8)

 ---------(9)

---------(10)

Total Energy is: ---------(11)

Operating above operator on wave function, we get

---------(12)
which is Schrodinger time dependent wave equation
The expectation value of the momentum and energy is written as

-----------(13)

Similarly, the expectation value for E is

-----------(14)

Can be write the expectation value as given below?

If the wave function  of the system is known, the expectation value of G(x, p) is
Different physical quantities and corresponding operator form:
Schrodinger Time independent wave Equation:
In many situations, the potential energy of the particle does not depend
upon the time but depends only on the position of the particle.
In such cases, we write the time independent Schrodinger wave Eq.

To get this Eq. first we write the wave function for a free particle
in one dimension

--------(1)

is time dependent function.

From above Eq., we observe that the wave function is the product of time dependent
part and position dependent part.
 We know the time dependent wave Eq. is

--------(2)

Using Eq. (1) in (2) we get

------(3)

Note that in above Eq. the exponential factor is common,

so we divide with this factor and we write above Eq. as

----------(4)

which is Schrodinger time independent Eq. (steady state) in one

dimension
In three dimensions, the above Eq. is written as
An important property of Schrödinger’s steady-state equation is that, if it has one
or more solutions for a given system, each of these wave functions corresponds to
a specific value of the energy E.

This represent energy quantization.

The quantization of energy can be seen in the solutions of Schrödinger’s

equation for standing waves in a stretched string of length L that is fixed at
both ends.
Here, the boundary conditions are that the
displacement y always be zero at both ends of the string.

In this case, y must be real, not complex, as

it represents a directly measurable quantity.

The solutions of the wave equation

Eigenvalues and Eigenfunctions

The values of energy En for which Schrödinger’s steady-state

equation can be solved are called eigenvalues and the
corresponding wave functions n are called eigenfunctions.

The discrete energy levels of the hydrogen atom

There are certain dynamics quantities which can take only certain
values. Suppose G is such physical quantity.
Now when the operator of G is operated on the wave function
we get the discrete values .

So we write

Above Eq. is known as Eigenvalue equation. The wave function

is known as Eigenwave function and is known as
corresponding Eigenvalues.
Question:

The eigenvalue G is 4.