1

One-Dimensional Quantum Mechanics

Schrdinger Equation
If we define
2
h

= , then

( )
2
2 and
2 2
h h h
E hf f p k

| | | || |
= = = = = =
| | |
\ . \ .\ .


With this notation, the time-dependent Schrdinger equation is


2 2
2
( , ) ( , )
( ) ( , )
2
x t x t
U x x t i
m x t

+ =

When the potential energy U does not depend on time, the x- and t-dependent parts
of ( , ) x t can be separated as
( , ) ( )
i t
x t x e

=

Then ( ) x satisfies the time-independent Schrdinger equation

2 2
2
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
d x
U x x E x
m dx

+ =

Notice that in this case, the probability density does not depend on time.

2 2
( ) ( , ) ( ) P x x t x = =
Such states are therefore called stationary states.


Free Particle

A particle is called a free particle if it is not under the influence of any forces. Then its
potential energy is zero. Thus


2 2
2
2 2 2
( ) 2 2
( ) ( ) ( )
2
d x mE m p
x x k x
dx m

= = =


Its solution is

( ) where 2 /
ikx ikx
x Ae Be k mE

= + =
The full wave function is


( ) ( )
( , ) ( )
ikx ikx i t i kx t i kx t
x t Ae Be e Ae Be
+
= + = +

For any value of energy,
2 2
/ 2 E k m = , there are two solutions. The first one corres-
ponds to a particle moving in the (+x) direction with momentum ( ) k and the second
one to a particle moving in the (-x) direction with the same momentum.

If the direction of the momentum is known, then only one solution is possible, say
( )
ikx
x Ae = . The probability density is

2
( ) * * P x A = = =
2
The probability density is constant, independent of x and t. So the particle can be
found anywhere on the x-axis with equal probability. The position of the particle is
completely uncertain, x = . Of course, this is to be expected for a particle whose
momentum is definite, 0
x
p = .

General Properties of the Wave Function

1. Since
2
is probability density, it must be finite. Hence ( ) x must be a finite
function.

2. Since the total probability of finding the particle somewhere on the x-axis is 100%,


2
1 dx

This is called the normalization condition. In order for this integral over the interval
| |
, to be finite, ( ) x must go to zero as x approaches .
lim ( ) 0
x
x

=

3. Schrdinger equation contains the second derivative of ( ) x . Therefore the first
derivative must exist and therefore ( ) x must be a continuous function.

4. Since
2
2 2
( ) 2
( ) ( )
d x m
E U x
dx

, depending on the potential energy, there are

two possibilities for the finiteness of the second derivative:

a) If U is finite, then the second derivative is also finite. Then the first derivative
d
dx
| |
|
\ .
must be continuous.
b) If U is infinite at some point, then the second derivative will not be finite, and
d
dx
| |
|
\ .
may not be continuous at that point.


Potential Energy Curves

Example: A ball under action of gravity


0
( )
0
mgx x
U x
x

=

<

( )
dU
F x mg
dx
= = . So the force is equal to
the negative of the slope of the potential energy
curve.


/ x E mg =
K
x
U
E
3
Kinetic energy, K = E U, is the difference between the total energy and the potential
energy of the system. Kinetic energy cannot be negative. Therefore the ball can only
be in regions where E > U. The points, x = 0 and x = E/mg are called the classical
turning points. The region where E < U, is called the classically forbidden region.


Example: Block attached to a spring

2
1
( )
2
U x kx =

dU
F kx
dx
= =

Classical turning points:
2

E
E U x
k
= =
2 / x E k = 2 / x E k =



Example: A negatively charged particle (-q) on the x-axis in the presence of two posi-
tive charges Q at y = a

The potential energy of (-q) is
2 2
2
( )
kQq
U x qV
x a
= =
+







If E < 0 as is the case for E
1,

the particle must remain be-
tween the two classical turn-
ing points given by E = U.
This is a bound state.

If E > 0 as is the case for E
2
,
the particle can escape to in-
finity. This is an unbound
state.










x
U
K
E
Q
Q
-q
a
a
x
y
x
U

E
1
E
2
K
U
4
Particle in a Box


0
( ) 0 0

x
U x x L
x L
<

>

This is an infinitely deep potential well. The particle cannot escape outside the well.
The probability of finding the particle outside the well is zero. Hence
( ) ( ) 0
I III
x x = =

In the region, 0 x L < < , the potential energy is zero and the Schrdinger equation is


2
2 2
( ) 2
( )
d x mE
x
dx

Hence the solution is

2 2
( ) sin cos
II
mE mE
x A x B x = +



The wave function must be continuous. Therefore

0 0
| | 0 sin 0 cos 0 0
I x II x
A B B
= =
= = + =
and

2 2
| | sin 0
II x L III x L
mE mE
A L L n
= =
= = =


Thus the particles energy can only have the values given by


2 2 2 2 2
2
1 2 2
2 8
n
n n h
E n E
mL mL

= = =

n=1, 2, 3,

Although the particle is free within the box, it cannot have any energy like a free par-
ticle. This is because it is now confined to a restricted domain unlike a free particle.
The quantization of the energy levels is a result of this localization. Mathematically,
the quantization is a result of the boundary conditions.

The corresponding wave functions are

sin 0
0 0 or
n
n
n x
A x L
L
x x L

< <

< >

The constant A
n
is determined by the normalization condition:

2 2 2 2
2
0 0 0
1 2
1 sin cos
2 2
L L L
n n n
n x n x L
dx A dx A dx A
L L

| |
= = = =
|
\ .


Thus

2
n
A
L
=
The full wave function in the region 0 < x < L is then given by

X = 0 X = L

III I II
5

2 2
( / 4 )
2
( , ) sin
i n h mL t
n
x t x e
L L

| |
=
|
\ .


The probability distribution is

2
2
2
( ) ( , ) sin
n
P x x t x
L L
| |
= =
|
\ .

The graphs of the wave functions and probability distributions of the first three states
are shown below.




Notice that the wave function for the lowest energy (E
1
) state (ground state) has no
zeros. The wave function of the first excited state (E
2
) has one zero and that of the
second excited state (E
3
) has two zeros. (The zeros of a functions are points where it
cuts the x-axis. The zeros at x = 0 and x = L do not count). This turns out to be a
general feature of wave functions of one-dimensional quantum mechanical systems:

In one-dimension, the wave function of the n
th
excited state has n zeros.

In classical mechanics, a particle confined in a box would be bouncing around within
the walls. We would therefore expect to find it at any point within the box with equal
probability. As we see from the graphs above, this is not the case in quantum me-
chanics.

In classical mechanics the particle could be at rest in the box, i.e. its energy could be
zero. Quantum mechanically, this can never be the case. Even the energy of the
ground state is not zero. This called the zero-point energy. This can be understood
by invoking the uncertainty principle. If the energy of the particle were zero, then its
momentum in the box would also be zero. If the momentum is known to be zero, then
the uncertainty in momentum would also be zero. This would mean that the position
is completely uncertain, but this cannot be the case since we know that the particle is
in the region 0 < x < L, i.e. x cannot be greater than L.


1

2

3

6
Particle in a Finite Well

We now analyze the case of a particle in a finite well, rather than infinite.






0

2
( )
0 x
2
L
U x
U x
L

>

For reasons of symmetry, we have taken the well to be in the interval [-L/2, L/2]. This
time, if the energy of the particle is larger than U
0
, then it can escape to infinity.
Therefore states with E > U
0
would be unbound states. We have bound states only
for E < U
0
. Here we only consider bound states. We have three regions to consider:

Region 1 (x < -L/2)

Here the Schrdinger equation is

2
0 2 2
( ) 2
( ) ( )
d x m
U E x
dx

Since for bound states E < U
0
, the coefficient on the right hand side is positive and
the solutions are
Kx
e and
Kx
e

. However, x = is in this region and the second so-

lution would blow up at x = and is therefore not an acceptable solution. So the
solution is


0
( ) where 2 ( ) /
Kx
I
x Ae K m U E = =

Region 2 (-L/2 < x < L/2)

Here the Schrdinger equation is of the free-particle form. Therefore the solution is

2
( ) sin cos where
II
mE
x B kx C kx k = + =

Region 3 (x > L/2)

Here the Schrdinger equation is the same as in Region 1. Therefore there are two
solutions:
Kx
e and
Kx
e

. However, this time x = + is in this region and the first solu-

tion would blow up at x = +. Therefore only the second solution is acceptable.

0
( ) where 2 ( ) /
Kx
III
x De K m U E

= =

U
x
-L/2 L/2
E
(bound)
E
(unbound)
U
0
U
0
I II III
7
Since the potential energy is finite everywhere, both the wave function ( ) x and its
derivative / d dx must be continuous. So the following equations must be satisfied:

/ 2 / 2 / 2 / 2
/ 2 / 2 / 2 / 2
| | | |

I L II L II L III L
I II II III
L L L L
d d d d
dx dx dx dx




= =
= =


The algebra involved in solving these equations is too long and leads to an equation
that can only be solved numerically. Therefore we will not pursue this any further.

The equations again result in discrete values for energy; the energy of the particle is
quantized. However, this time an infinite number of bound states are not possible.
Depending on the depth (U
0
) and the width (L) of the well, only a limited number of
states are possible. It can be shown that the maximum number of states that the well
can support is given by

0
2
1 2
L
n mU
h
+

The wave functions and corresponding probability distributions for the three lowest
energy states are shown below.




The most important feature of the solution is the fact that the wave function is not ze-
ro in the classically forbidden regions x < -L/2 and x > L/2. Thus there is a finite prob-
ability of finding the particle in these regions! As the energy of the state increases,
the probability of the particle penetrating the forbidden regions also increases.

Notice however that the wave function decreases exponentially in these regions.
Therefore the probability of finding the particle in these regions decreases very fast
as x increases. The particle does not penetrate the classically forbidden region very
far. At a distance of
0
/ 2 ( ) x m U E = into the forbidden region, ( )
III
x decreases
to about one third of its original value.


1
( ) (0.37)
III
x De D

= =
-L/2 L/2 -L/2 L/2
P2
2

3

P1
P3
1

8

This distance is therefore a good measure as to how far the wave function extends
into the forbidden region and is called the penetration distance :


0
2 ( ) m U E
=

You might wonder how the particle could penetrate into this region where the kinetic
energy would be negative,
0
0 K E U = < ! The answer lies in the uncertainty prin-
ciple. In order to verify this, we need to find the particle in this region and simulta-
neously measure its kinetic energy. In order to determine that the particle is in this
region, we have to find it in the forbidden region, i.e. measure its position with a min-
imum uncertainty of x = . Then the uncertainty in its momentum will be
0
/ / 2 ( ) p x m U E = = = . This results in an uncertainty in its kinetic energy
of magnitude
2
0
( ) / 2 K p m U E = = , and this is so large that it would not be
possible to measure a negative kinetic energy.






Sketching Wave Functions

With the experience that we have gained form the examples above, we can easily
sketch wave functions corresponding to one-dimensional potential energies. Let us
summarize our findings:

a) The wave function must be continuous.
b) The wave function must approach zero as x .
c) If U is finite, the derivative of the wave function must be continuous.
d) If U is infinite at any point, the wave function must be zero at that point.
e) In classically forbidden regions, the wave function must decay exponentially.
Therefore the wave function may have at most one zero in classically forbidden
regions.
f) The n
th
excited state must have n zeros.
g) In order to have bound states, the classically forbidden regions must extend to
infinity.

Furthermore, we can make the following observations:

h) The de Broglie wavelength is inversely proportional to the momentum. Therefore
in regions with lower kinetic energy, i.e. higher potential energy, the wavelength
should be longer.
i) A particle is more likely to be found in regions where its momentum and there-
fore kinetic energy is small. Since the probability of finding the particle in a re-
gion is proportional to the square of the wave function, the amplitude of the wave
function must be larger in regions of lower kinetic energy, i.e. higher potential
energy.

Try sketching the wave functions of the indicated energy levels for the following po-
tentials.
9















Unbound States Barrier Penetration

Consider the following potential



0
x < 0
0 0 < x < a
( )

0
U x
U a x b
x b

=

< <

>

In classical mechanics, a particle that is initially in the region [0, a] with an energy E
less than U
0
can never leave that region since the region [a, b] is a classically forbid-
den region. It would not have enough energy to jump over that barrier.

However, in quantum mechanics its is easy to see that the wave function for the par-
ticle would be

0
sin 0 where 2 /
( ) where 2 ( ) /
where 2 /
Kx Kx
ikx
A kx x a k mE
x Be Ce a x b K m U E
De x b k mE

< < =

= + =

> =

The wave function extends to any x-value. There is a finite probability of finding the
particle outside the well. The particle would be able to tunnel out through the barrier.
This phenomenon is called barrier tunneling.

There are therefore no bound states for this potential. On the basis of these exam-
ples, we conclude that in quantum mechanics, bound states exist only if the classical-
ly forbidden regions extend to infinity.


Consider a free particle moving in the (+x) direction towards a potential barrier of
height U
0
and width L with an energy E < U
0
.

E
1
E
6
E
1
E
4
E
7
x=a x=b
E
U
0

10
T
I
R
X=L X=0
U0
E


0
0 0
( ) U 0
0
x
U x x L
x L
<

>

In classical mechanics, the particle would simply bounce off the barrier since it does
not have sufficient energy to go beyond it. Also in quantum mechanics, the particle
does rebound from the barrier, but also has a finite probability of leaking through the
barrier. To see this, lets consider the solution of the Schrdinger equation for this
problem.

For x < 0, the equation is the free particle equation with the solution

1
( ) where 2 /
ikx ikx
x Ae Be k mE

= + =

The first wave corresponds to the incident particle and the second one to the reflect-
ed one.

Within the barrier, the equation is


2
0 2 2
( ) 2
( ) ( )
d x m
U E x
dx

with the solution


2 0
( ) where 2 ( ) /
Kx Kx
x Ce De K m U E

= + =

In the region x > L, we again have the free particle equation, but in this region there is
no wave propagating in the (-x) direction. Therefore the solution is


3
( ) where 2 /
ikx
x Fe k mE = =

We see that the probability density of finding the particle beyond the barrier is nonze-
ro. It is given by
2 2
3
( ) ( ) P x x F = = .

The probability of tunneling can be expressed with a transmission coefficient T and
reflection coefficient R. Since the particle is either transmitted or reflected, T + R = 1.
For a very high or very wide barrier, where the transmission probability is small, the
transmission coefficient is approximately equal to


0
2 2 ( ) / 2 L m U E KL
T e e

=



PHYS3104

One-Dimensional Quantum Mechanics Homework Assignment

Wave Functions

1. Which of the following functions are not acceptable wave functions? Explain why.
a) ( )
x
x Axe

= b)
2
( ) (1 )
x
x A e

= c)
for 0
( )
0 for 0
ax
Ae x
x
x

>
=
<

2. The wave function of an electron is given by
| |
( )
x
x Ae

= .
a) Sketch this wave function.
b) Sketch the probability density.
c) Normalize this wave function.
d) Determine the probability of finding the electron in the interval 1 2 , 1 2 (

.

3. Which of the following potential energy curves cannot support any bound states? If bound states exist, state for
which energies that is possible.










4. Consider the potential energy curve shown.
Describe the motion of a particle of energy 0 < E < U1, initially at x > a and moving in the (x) direction (a) classi-
cally, (b) quantum mechanically.
Consider a particle with energy U2 < E < 0, initially at x > a. Explain what you expect (c) classically, (d) quantum
mechanically.













5. Sketch the wave functions for ball under the action of gravity potential energy curve for energies E1, E4 and E9.

Particle in A Box

6. What must be the width of an infinite well such that a trapped electron in the n = 3 state has an energy of 4.70 eV?

7. An electron, trapped in an infinite well of width 253 pm, is in the ground state. How much energy must it absorb to
jump to the third excited state?

8. Where are the points of (a) maximum and (b) minimum probability of finding a particle trapped in an infinitely deep
well of length L if the particle is in the state n?

9. A particle is confined between rigid walls separated by a distance L.
(a) Show that the probability P of that it will be found within a distance L/3 from one wall is given by

1 sin(2 / 3)
1
3 2 / 3
n
P
n

| |
=
|
\ .

Evaluate the probability for (b) n = 1, (c) n = 2, (d) n = 3 and (e) classically.

10. a) Derive an expression for the wavelength of light emitted by a particle in a box during a transition from the n-th
level to the ground state.
b) In what length box will an electron undergoing a 2 1 transition emit light with a wavelength of 694 nm?


-U
0
0
U
0
2 U
0
U
0
0 0
U
0
-U
0
x

-U
2
-a

U
1
a

Particle in a Potential Well

11. Sketch the 5
th
excited state wave function for a particle in a potential well.

12. Consider an electron in a potential well with depth 1 eV and width 2 nm.
a) How many bound states can this well support?
b) The ground state energy is 0.068 eV and the energy of the third excited state is 0.949 eV. Find the penetra-
tion distance for an electron in these states.

13. A particle is in the well shown in the figure with an energy E < U0.











a) Find the form of the wave function in each region.
b) Apply the boundary conditions and find an equation that gives the bound state energies.

14. Write the form of the bound-state wave function in the different regions of the following potential, write the boun-
dary conditions and sketch the first four bound-state wave functions.

0

( ) 0
and
x b
U x a x b
U x a x b

<

= < <

< >

Barrier Tunneling

15. a) Calculate the transmission coefficient for 5.0-eV electrons incident on a 6.0-eV high barrier of thickness 0.7
nm.
b) Suppose that you can vary the thickness L of the barrier. To what value should the thickness be adjusted so
that 1 electron out of 100 striking the barrier will tunnel through it?

16. Suppose that an incident beam of 5.0-eV protons fell on a barrier of height 6.0 eV and thickness 0.70 nm, and at
a rate equivalent to a current of 1.0 kA. How long would you have to wait on the average for one proton to be
transmitted?

17. Particles of mass m and energy E originally traveling to the right in a region of space where U = 0 strike a step
potential at x = 0 of height U0 < E for all x > 0 as shown in the figure. Classically all particles will pass over the
potential step. Solve the quantum mechanics problem by following a process similar to the one we used for bar-
rier tunneling.
(a) Write down solutions valid in the region x < 0 consisting of an incident wave of amplitude A and a reflected
wave of amplitude B, and in the region x > 0 consisting of a transmitted wave of amplitude C. Express the
solutions in terms of 2 / k mE = and 2 ( ) /
0
k m E U = .
(b) Apply the boundary conditions at x = 0 to find B/A and C/A.
(c) Show that the transmission coefficient, defined as
2
k C
T
k A

= , is
4( / )
2
(1 / )
k k
T
k k

=
+
.
(d) Calculate the probability of reflection for a neutron with energy 42 MeV traveling towards a step of height 40
MeV.








Answers:

2. (d) 63%, 3. Second, 6. 8.5 , 7. 88.1 eV, 8. (a) (m + )L/n, (b) mL/n, 9. (b) 0.196, (c) 0.402, (d) 0.333, (e) 1/3,
10. (b) 7.95 , 12. (a) 4, (b) 0.2 nm, 0.86 nm, 15. (a) 7.7x10
-4
, (b) 4.5 , 16. 2.4x10
102
yr, 17. (d) 41%

x=0
U = 0
U0
x=L
U = 0
U
0
E
x = 0