Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

Dr Mark S. D. Read

Table of Contents ...

1 Introduction
A wave function is a function that satisfies a wave equation and describes the properties of a
wave [1] . For a sound wave, the wave function is associated with the pressure at a time and position .
For a water wave, is the height of the wave at a time .

Quantum mechanics treats moving matter as a wave, called a `matter wave’ (by combining the classical
wave equation and the de Broglie relation [2]). However, unlike the classical mechanics of wave motion,
in quantum mechanics the wave amplitude itself has no physical meaning. It is a complex quantity
representing the variation of a matter wave.

[1] Wave functions are commonly denoted by the variable .

[2] In 1924 Louis de Broglie suggested that a relationship that had been derived to relate momentum and wavelength
for light should also apply to particles.

1.1 Born’s Statistical Interpretation

In 1926 Max Born suggested an interpretation of the `wavy nature’ of quantum particles as `waves of
probability’. According to Born, the wave equation presented by Schrödinger the previous year was
fundamentally a piece of mathematical machinery for calculating the chances of observing a particular
outcome in an experiment. Essentially, Born’s rule connects quantum theory to experiment. “The Born
rule is the crucial link between the abstract mathematical objects of quantum theory and the world of
experience.”

The Born rule is a key postulate of quantum mechanics which gives the probability that measurement of a
quantum system produces a given result. In its simplest form, it states that “the probability density of
finding a particle at a given point is proportional to the square of the magnitude of the particle’s wave
function at that point.”

Born’s postulate that the wave function, ( ) describing a particle’s behaviour is related to the probability
of finding the particle may be represented mathematically by:

(1)

The implication here is that the wave function itself does not represent the probability, but a probability
amplitude, and that the information contained in only represents the probability that one would measure
a certain dynamical quantity, but cannot give pre-determined results in the same manner that deterministic
classical mechanics will. Whereas classical mechanics is completely deterministic (if the initial conditions
are known, the exact position where the particle will be at a later point in time can be predicted), quantum
mechanics only provides statistical information about what the possible measurements will be. This
interpretation, although since born out by much experimentation, caused much debate in the history of
quantum mechanics.

1.1.1 Complex Numbers and Conjugates

A complex number is a combination of a real and an imaginary number in the form where
and are real numbers and i is the “unit imaginary number”

(2)

The complex conjugate of a complex number is the number with an equal real part and an
imaginary part equal in magnitude but opposite in sign. I.e. (if and are real, then) the complex
conjugate of is , complex conjugates are denoted by a superscript asterisk.
In polar form, the conjugate of is which can be shown using Euler’s formula.

The product of a complex number and its complex conjugate is a real number and is also
the complex number analogue to squaring a real function.

1.2 Probability of finding a particle

The interpretation of the wave function in terms of the location of a particle is based on Max Born’s
postulate. Born used the wave theory of light as an analogy, in which the square of the amplitude of an
electromagnetic wave in a region is interpreted as its intensity and therefore (in quantum terms) as a
measure of the probability of finding a photon present in this region.

The Born Interpretation focuses on the square of the wave function (or the square modulus if the wave
function is complex):

(3)

For a one-dimensional system, if the wave function of a particle has the value at some point , then the
probability of finding the particle between and is proportional to . Thus, is
the probability density and to obtain the probability it must be multiplied by the length of the
infinitesimal region . The wave function itself is called the probability amplitude.

For a particle free to move in three dimensions (e.g. an electron near a nucleus in an atom), the wave
function depends on the point with coordinates ( ) and is interpreted as follows:
If the wave function of a particle has the value at some point , then the probability of finding the
particle in an infinitesimal volume at that point is proportional to .

The Born Interpretation negates worrying about the significance of a negative (and, in general, complex)
value of because is always real and never negative!

There is no direct significance in the negative (or complex) value of a wave function only the square
modulus, a positive quantity, is directly physically significant. Indeed, both positive and negative regions
of a wave function may correspond to a high probability of finding a particle in a region.

1.3 Normalisation of a wave function

Since we interpret as defining a probability for finding the particle at some position . Then as the
particle must exist somewhere within the defined region, we are guaranteed to find the particle if we
look everywhere! Thus, if we sum up the probabilities over all possible positions of , they should sum to
1 (or ).

Normalising a wave function simply means multiplying it by a constant to ensure that the sum of the
probabilities for finding that particle equals 1.

Mathematically, this means integrating over all space should equal 1.

(4)

1.3.1 Normalisation of where

Consider a simple wave function, operating between the limits . Since this wave
function is real, the probability density is . Figure 1 shows a plot of the probability density and the
integrated area between the limits . In order for the total probability of finding a particle within
this shaded region, the area (or integral) should equal 1.
 Figure 1: Plot of showing the integral between the limits

Just from looking at the scale of the axis, this is clearly not the case and the area much greater that 1! So,
what is the area of the shaded region, i.e. the integration of the probability density between the limits of
?

The probability of finding the particle between the limits for the above wave function is
. This is unphysical since the probability must equal 1 over this area. Thus, this wave function
needs to be normalised so that this integral equals 1. This is achieved by by multiplying the wave
function by a Normalisation Constant .

(5)

Now we have to determine a value for in order for the probability density to equal 1 over the area
between the limits.
Thus, the normalised form of our wave function is:

(6)
 Figure 2: Plot of Normalised showing the integral between the limits =1

Visual inspection of Figure 2 indicates that the area of the integral is 1. This is confirmed by multiplying
the integral of the square of the un-normalised wave function by the square of the normalisation
constant. i.e.

(7)

1.3.2 Integrals of Common Functions

A useful procedure for finding the normalisation constant ( ) (and thus writing the normalised wave
function, ) is as follows:

1. Determine (depending on whether is real or imaginary)

If is real, i.e. does not contain i in the expression, then
If is imaginary, i.e. does contain i in the expression, then the complex conjugate, is the number
with an equal real part and an imaginary part equal in magnitude but opposite in sign,
e.g.
2. Introduce N and set the integral of equal to 1
3. Integrate and solve for N
4. Write the final Normalised wave function

Both real and imaginary wave function examples are given below:

1.3.2 Normalisation of where

Determine the value of such that the following wave function is normalised from 0 to

1. Determine (depending on whether is real or imaginary)

2. Introduce N and set the integral of equal to 1
3. Integrate and solve for
4. Write the final Normalised wave function
1.3.3 Normalisation of the Particle in a Box Wave Function where is a
positive integer and
Determine the value of such that the following wave function is normalised from 0 to 1

1. Determine (depending on whether is real or imaginary)

2. Introduce and set the integral of equal to 1
3. Integrate and solve for
4. Write the final Normalised wave function
Note that the Normalisation Constant is dependent only on the length of the box ( ). The Normalised
wave function provides a series of functions for . The first five Normalised wave
functions are plotted in Figure 3 over the length of the 1D box where has boundaries at 0 and 1.
 Figure 3: Plot of Normalised Wave Functions For a Particle in a 1D Box, n=1-5 L=1

Figure 4 plots the state for a particle in a box of length . Integrating the square of the un-
normalised wave function over the dimensions of the box, (purple) the probabilities sum to 0.5 which is
unphysical. Whereas, using the square of the normalised wave function probabilities total 1, which is
physical and correct.

Figure 4: Plot of Probability Density For a Particle in a 1D Box, n=2 L=1 Un-Normalised in
Purple, Normalised in Orange