everyone pick up: syllabus two homework passes 8/26 eric carlson “eric” “professor carlson”...

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Everyone Pick Up: •Syllabus •Two homework passes http://users.wfu.edu/ ecarlson/quantum 8/26 Eric Carlson “Eric” “Professor Carlson” Olin 306 Office Hours always 758-4994 (o) 407- 6528 (c) [email protected] Materials Quantum Mechanics, by Eric Carlson (free on the web) •Calculator •Pencils or pens, paper Physics 741 – Graduate Quantum Mechanics I

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Everyone Pick Up:•Syllabus•Two homework passes

http://users.wfu.edu/ecarlson/quantum

8/26

Eric Carlson“Eric”

“Professor Carlson”Olin 306

Office Hours always758-4994 (o) 407-6528 (c)

[email protected]

Materials•Quantum Mechanics, by Eric Carlson (free on the web)•Calculator•Pencils or pens, paper

Physics 741 – Graduate Quantum Mechanics I

9:00

10:00

11:00

12:00

1:00

2:00

3:00

4:00

5:00

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Dr. Carlson’s Approximate Schedule

office hour office hourPHY 741 PHY 741

research research

colloquium

Free food

PHY 215

PHY 741

research

•I will try to be in my office Tues. Thurs. 12-1•When in doubt, call/email first

PHY 215 PHY 215office hour office hour

faculty

fellow

Reading Assignments / The Text

ASSIGNMENTSDay Read HomeworkToday 1A, 1B noneFriday 1C, 1D, 1E 1.1Monday 2A, 2B, 2C 1.2, 1.3, 1.4

• I use my own textbook• Downloadable for free from the web

• Assignments posted on the web• Will be updated as needed

• Readings every day

http://users.wfu.edu/ecarlson/quantum

Homework

ASSIGNMENTSDay Read HomeworkToday 1A, 1B noneFriday 1C, 1D, 1E 1.1Monday 2A, 2B, 2C 1.2, 1.3, 1.4

• Almost all the problems in the textbook• About two problems due every day• Homework is due at 12:00 on day• Late homework penalty 20% per day• Two homework passes per semester

http://users.wfu.edu/ecarlson/quantum

• Working with other student is allowed• Seek my help when stuck• You should understand anything you turn in

Attendance and TestsAttendance•I do not grade on attendance•Attendance is expected•Class participation is expected•I take attendance every day

Tests•Midterm will be about two hours long, approximately on Oct. 15•Final exam will be about three hours long, 2:00 PM on Dec. 9

Grades, Pandemic Plans

Percentage Breakdown:

Homework 50%Midterm 20%Final 30%

Grade Assigned94% A 77% C+90% A- 73% C87% B+ 70% C-83% B <70% F80% B-

•Some curving possible

Pandemic Plans•If there is a catastrophic closing of the university, we will attempt to continue the class:

Emergency contacts:Web page

emailCell: 336-407-6528

•Light come in packets with energy•This equation is bizarre

–It implies both that EM energy is in waves (f) and is particles (E)•A plane wave looks something like

1. Introduction1A. Quantum Mechanics is Weird

E hf

0 0, cos or , sint kx t t kx t E r E E r E

•Light moves at the speed of light c:• A formula from relativity for massless particles:•Put these formulas together:

ck E cp

cp E ck p k

•Mathematically simpler (and crucial for quantum) to combine them into complex waves:

0, ikx i tt e E r E

Photons and Quantum Mechanics

Uncertainty Principle for Photons

•Waves are not generally localized in space–They have a spread in position x

•You can make them somewhat localized by combining different wave numbers k

–Now they have a spread in k, k•There is a precise inequality relating these two quantities

–Proved formally in a later chapter•If we multiply this equation by , we get the uncertainty principle

12x k

p k

12x p

•In quantum mechanics, photons can’t have both a definite position and a definite momentum

It’s All Done with Mirrors

•Ordinary mirrors reflect all of the light that impinges on them

•Half-silvered mirrors have a very thin coating of metal–They reflect only half the light and transmit the other half

•What happens if we shine photons on a half silvered mirror?

mirror

half-mirror

Photons and half-silvered mirror

•The photon gets split into two equal pieces•Each detector sees 50% of the original photons•Even if we send photons in one at a time

•Never in both detectors

•If you send in a wave the other way, the same thing happens•There’s a “phase difference”, but since we square the amplitude, the probabilities are the same•50% in each detector

Let’s send photons through a half-mirror

Detectors

A

B

50%

50%

50%

50%

Interferometry

•The photon gets split into two equal pieces•The two halves of the photons are recombined by the second half-mirror

•Always goes to detector A•Even one photon at a time

•If you send in a wave the other way, the photon is still split in half

Now use two mirrors and two half-mirrors•We can reconstruct the original waves

A

B

100%

0%

•The “phase difference” lets it remember which way it was going•Always in detector B

0%

100%

Interferometry requires that we carefully position the mirrors

Non-InterferometryHow does the photon remember which way it was going?•Replace one mirror with a detector

A

B

25%

25%

•The “memory” of which way it was going is in both halves

C

50%

•The photon gets split into two equal pieces•Half of them go to detector C

•The other half gets split in half again•Detectors A and B each see 25%•Even if you do it one photon at a time

•Depending on which experiment you do, photons sometimes act like particles and sometimes act like waves

Can We Have Our Cake and Eat it Too?

The plan:•Do experiment in space (no friction, etc.)

•Carefully measure momentum of mirror before you send one photon in•Check photon goes to detector A•Remeasure momentum and determine the path

The problem•If you measure the mirror’s initial momentum accurately, you have small p, and big x•Poor positioning of mirror ruins the interference

•When you do interference, you can tell the photon went both ways•For other experiments, you can measure which way it went•Can we do both?

A

B

100%beforep

afterp0 if upper path

if lower pathp

k

0%

Conclusion

•Because Quantum applies to photons, it must apply to mirrors as well•It seems inevitable that it applies to other things (like electrons)•We will apply it to non-relativistic systems, because these are easier to understand than relativistic

– We will eventually do electromagnetism / photons, but this is harder

1B. Schrödinger’s Equation

•For electromagnetic field, we had waves like:•For non-relativistic particles, we rename the wave function:•We assume two other relationships still apply•We note that:

•Multiplying by , we have:

•Classical relationship between the energy E and momentum p:•Multiply by on the right:

•Make the substitutions above

Deriving the free Schrödinger Equation in 1D 0, ikx i tt e E r E

E p k , ikx i tt Ne r

it

i k

x

i Et

i p

x

2

2

pE

m

21

2i i

t m x

p ix

2

2

pE

m

E it

Schrödinger’s Equation in 1D

•What if we have forces?•If the forces conserve energy, they can be written as the derivative of a potential •This contributes a new term to the energy

2 2

2, ,

2i x t x t

t m x

2

,2

pE V x t

m

p ix

E i

t

2

, , , ,2

pE x t x t V x t x t

m

2 2

2, , , ,

2i x t x t V x t x t

t m x

, ,F x t V x tx

•Make the same substitutions as before

Schrödinger’s Equation in 3D

•What if we are in 3D?•Momentum and potential must be generalized:•Redo the calculation as before

2

,2

E V tm

p

r

p ix

E i

t

2

, , , ,2

E t t V t tm

p

r r r r

2

2, , , ,2

i t t V t tt m

r r r r

, ,t V t F r r

•Make the new substitutions:

i p

Other Things to Consider:

•Particles may have spin•Some forces (such as magnetism) are not conservative forces•There may be multiple particles•The number of particles may actually be indefinite•Relativity•We will deal with all of these later

1C. The Meaning of the Wave Function

•The wave function, in essence, describes where the particle is– When it’s zero, the particle isn’t there– When it’s large, the particle more likely is there

•In electromagnetism, the energy density is proportional to |E(r,t)|2

•Since the probability of finding a photon is proportional to the energy density, it makes sense to make a similar conclusion for wave functions

Probability Density

2 *Probability density (1D) , , , ,x t x t x t x t

2 *Probability density (3D) , , , ,t t t t r r r r

•The probability density must be integrated to find the probability that a particle is in a certain range

Using Probability Density, and Normalization

2, ,x t x t

2, ,t t r r 2

,b

aP a x b x t dx

2 3,V

P V t d r r rWhat are the units of (x,t)? Of (r,t)?

•The probability that a particle is somewhere must be exactly 1

21 ,x t dx

2 31 , t d r r

•Don’t forget how to do 3D integrals in spherical coordinates!

23 2

0 0 0sin , ,f d r dr d d f r

r r

Sample ProblemA particle in a three-dimensional infinite square well has ground state wave function as given by

What is the normalization constant N? What is the probability that the particle is at r < ½R?

sin ,, ,

0 .

N r R r r Rr

r R

2 31 d r

222 2

0 0 0sin sin

RN r dr d d r R r

1 22 2

0 1 0sin cos

RN r R dr d d

2 2

04 sin

RN r R dr

2 2124 2N R R N

1

2N

R

> integrate(sin(Pi*r/R)^2,r=0..R);> integrate(sin(Pi*r/R)^2,r=0..R/2);

12

222 212 0 0 0

sin sinR

P r R N r dr d d r R r

12 2

0

4sin

2

Rr R dr

R

4 1

2 4R

R

1 12 2P r R

•Schrödinger’s equation is first order in time(r,t = 0) determines (r,t) at all times

•Phase change in (r,t) does not affect anything(r,t) ei (r,t) is effectively equivalent–We will treat these as different in principle but experimentally indistinguishable•Normalization condition must be satisfied at all times–Can be shown that if true at t = 0, Schrödinger’s equation makes sure it is always true–Will be proven later•We still need to discuss how measurement changes (r,t) –Chapter 4

Some comments

2 31 , t d r r 2

2, , , ,2

i t t V t tt m

r r r r

1D. Fourier Transform of the Wave Function

•The Fourier transform of a function is given by*•You can also Fourier transform in reverse•If the function is normalized, so is its Fourier transform

The Fourier Transform In 1D

2ikxdx

k x e

*The factors of 2 differ based on convention. I like this one.

2 2k dk x dx

2

ikxdkx k e

1

•Suppose we have a plane wave:•It’s momentum is k0

•It’s Fourier transform is•You would expect, if the Fourier transform is concentrated near k0, then its momentum would be around k0

•This suggests the Fourier transform tells yousomething about what the momentum is

0ik xx Ne

02k N k k

2~P p k k

•The wave function (x) tells you the probability of finding the particle’s position x in a certain range

•The Fourier Transform tells you the probability of finding the particle’s momentum p in a certain range

The Fourier Transform and Momentum

2

1

2

1 2

x

xP x x x x dx

•Neither of these two representation is really more fundamental than the other

2

1

2

1 2

k

kP k p k k dk

2

ikxdxk x e

2ikxdk

x k e

3

3/22

ide

k rr

k r

3

3/22

ide

k rk

r k

•We can similarly do Fourier transforms in 3D

•In any situation where you have a list of probabilities of a particular outcome, the expectation value is the average of what you expect to get•If there is a continuous distribution of possibilities, this becomes an integral

Expectation Values

a

a a P a•For example, we can measure the average value of the position x or the position squared x2

•Using the Fourier transform, we can similarly compute the momentum or its square

•There are in fact ways of finding these without doing the Fourier transform (later chapter)

a a a da

2 22 2,x x x dx x x x dx

2 222,p k k dk p k k dk

•The uncertainty of a quantity is the root mean square average of how far it deviates from its average

Uncertainty

a

a a P a•There is an easier way to calculate this:

2 2

a

a a a P a

2 2 2 22a a

a a a P a a aa a P a 2 22

a a a

a P a a aP a a P a 2 22 1a a a a

2 2 2a a a

•Uncertainty in position are given by:•These satisfy:

22 22 2

22 22 2 2

x x x dx x x dx

p k k dk k k dk

1

2x p

•We can often gain a qualitative understanding of what is going on by considering the uncertainty principle•What stabilizes the Hydrogen atom?

Understanding from Uncertainty

•It has potential and kinetic energy:•Classically, it wants:

– p = 0 to minimize the kinetic energy– r = 0 to minimize the potential energy

•But this violates the uncertainty principle!•If we specify the position too well, the momentum will be large•If we specify the momentum too well, the position will become uncertain•A compromise is the best solution

221

2ek e

E pm r

12x p

Sample ProblemClassically, the Hydrogen atom has energy given by

Using the uncertainty principle, estimate the ground state energy of the hydrogen atom

x a 221

2ek e

E pm r

12x p

•Let the uncertainty in the position be•By the uncertainty principle, the momen-tum must have at least uncertainty•Assume the position (r) is about x from the ideal position (r = 0), and the momentum (p) is about p fromthe ideal momentum (p = 0)

2p

a

2

r a

pa

•Substitute into the energy formula•The minimum is at some finite value of a:

•Substitute back into energy formula

22

28ek e

Ema a

0dE

da

22

3 24ek e

ma a

2

24 e

amk e

22 222

2 2

4 4

8e e

e

mk e mk eE k e

m

2 4

2

2 ek e m

•Off by factor of 4•Mostly because we ignored that it was a 3D problem (factor of 3)•Partly because it’s an estimate