PHYS 551 - PROBLEM SET 1 (Solution)

Written by Yan Gobeil

Question 1 (5+5+5)
a) Before removing the partition the wave function is an eigenfunction of the half-box system so
it is 0 in the middle and the probability of finding a particle there is 0. When we remove the
partition the system evolves according to the eigenstates of the whole box so the wave function
will spread and it will not be 0 anymore in the center. The probability of finding a particle there
will then increase for a while and its evolution after that depends on the details of the situation.
b) If electromagnetism is turned off the Hamiltonian of the system will become the one for a free
particle so the eigenstates will be plane waves. To know the exact wave function we would need
to expand the initial state into plane waves but all we need to know is that this expansion is
what will determine the behavior of the particle so that it will become free.
c) This argument is valid classically but not quantum mechanically because to express the state of
the photon in the compact direction we need to have an infinite sum of plane waves so that the
state is not definite and the value of the momentum is not what is in the question.

Question 2
Part 1 (5+5+5)
a) The first eigenstate of a particle in a 1d box is (see question 5i for details)
r
 x 
2
sin
from 0 to L
(x, 0) =
L
L
To know the evolution we must express this function as a linear combination of the new eigenstates

 nx 
X
(x, 0) =
Bn sin
from 0 to 2L
2L
n=1

This is just a Fourier expansion of the wave function so the coefficients are given by (be careful
of the domain where the initial wave function is defined)
r
Z
Z r
 nx 
 x 
 nx 
1 2L
1 L 2
2 4(1)(n+3)/2
Bn =
(x, 0) sin
dx =
sin
sin
dx =
for n odd
L 0
2L
L 0
L
L
2L
L (4 n2 )
r
Z r
 x 
 x 
1 L 2
1 2
B2 =
sin
sin
dx =
L 0
L
L
L
2 L
1

The time evolution of the wave function is then

r
 x 
 nx 
X 4(1)(n+3)/2 in2 2 ~ t
2 1 i2 ~2 t
from 0 to 2L
(x, t) =
e 2mL sin
e 8mL2 sin
+
L 2
L
(4 n2 )
2L
n=1,3,...

b) We must express our state in terms of the new eigenstates (which will be found in question 5ii)
r





 x  X
X
2inx
2
2nx
2nx
+ Bn sin
=
Cn e L
sin
=
An cos
L
L
L
L
n=
n=0

The expansion is simply a Fourier expansion and the coefficients are

r
Z r
 x  2inx
1 L 2
2
2
L
Cn =
sin
e
dx =
L 0
L
L
L (1 4n2 )
So the time evolution of the state is given by
r

2 2
2 X
2
2in 2 ~t 2inx
mL
(x, t) =
e L from 0 to L
e
L n= (1 4n2 )
c) The procedure is exactly the same but the new eigenstates and energies are taken with 2L
instead of L.

X
inx
(x, 0) =
Cn e L
n=

The expression for the coefficients is (again being careful of the domain of the wave function)
r
Z 2L
Z Lr
 x  inx
1
2
2
1
1
inx

Cn =
(x, 0)e L dx =
sin
e L dx =
for n even
2L 0
2L 0
L
L
L (1 n2 )
r
Z Lr
 x  ix
1
2
2 i
C1 =
sin
e L dx =
2L 0
L
L
L 4
The time evolved state is then

r


2 ~t
2 2 ~t
X
i
in
inx
2 1
x
1
(x, t) =
e 2mL2 sin
+
e 2mL2 e L from 0 to 2L
L 2
L
(1 n2 )
n=..,2,0,2,..

Part 2 (5+5+5+5)
If we detect the particle at a point it means that we collapse the wave function to that point so
that


L
(x, 0) = x
2
We again need to express that as a sum over the eigenstates of the system

 X

 nx 
L
x
=
Bn sin
2
L
n=1

So the coefficients are

2
Bn =
L

Z
0

L
x
2


sin

 nx 
L

dx =

2
(1)(n+3)/2 for n odd
L

The probability wanted is then

4
P rob = |(L/3, t)|2 = 2
L


2

 n 
 X
in2 2 ~t


(1)(n+3)/2 e 2mL2 sin

3 
n=1,3,..

a) We express the wave function as a sum over the new eigenstates of the system

 X

 nx 
L
x
=
Bn sin
2
4L
n=1

So the coefficients are

1
Bn =
2L

4L



 nx 
 n 
L
1
x
sin
dx =
sin
2
4L
2L
8

The probability wanted is then

1
P rob = |(L/3, t)|2 =
4L2

X
 n 2
 n  in2 2 ~t


e 32mL2 sin
sin



8
12 
n=1

b) We expand the wave function in terms of the new eigenstates




X
2inx
L
=
x
Cn e L
2
n=
The coefficients are
1
Cn =
L

Z
0



L 2inx
1
x
e L dx = (1)n
2
L

And then the probability is

1
P rob = |(L/3, t)|2 = 2
L


2
 X

2 2 ~t
2in
2in


(1)n e mL2 e 3 



n=

We already know the time dependent wave function in the first eigenstate from question 2a so
simply
r

 2
  2
2~
i
1


P rob = |(L/4, t)|2 = 
e 2mL2 t sin
 =
 L
4 
L
So the probability stays the same. For the observed particle we have

2




2 2 ~t
X

in
4 
n 
2
(n+3)/2 2mL2
P rob = |(L/4, t)| = 2 
(1)
e
sin
L 
4 
n=1,3,..
3

Question 3 (10)
The two potentials that will affect the electron are the electric potential energy UQ due to the
charge and the potential energy Vk of the spring (ignore gravity since its too small). We will put
the origin of our coordinate system at the position of the charge Q and x will be the position of
the electron. Vk is the typical potential that we all know and love:
1
Vk = k(x L)2
2
with L the length of the spring at rest. The electric potential is different in 1+1 dimensions and
we will use Gauss law to find first the electric field and then the potential (as done in class).
I
EdA = EA = q/0
The enclosing surface in 1+1 dimensions is 2 points so we take the area to be 1. The electric field
is then E = q/0 and since E = V
x its easy to see that
VQ =

Qx
eQx
UQ = eVQ =
0
0

The Schrodinger equation for the wave function of the electron is then


1
eQx
~2 2 (x)
2
+
k(x L) +

(x) = E(x)
2m x2
2
0
Its possible to rewrite the potential as a perfect square (plus a constant that simply shifts the
energies)


1
eQx
1
eQ 2
2
k(x L) +
= k xL+
+ constant
2
0
2
k0
eQ
We define y x L + k
and the equation becomes exactly the one for the harmonic oscillator in
0
y. The wave functions are then the same as for the H.O. but shifted in x and of course the energies
are quantized.

Question 4 (10)
We label the elements of the basis by |bi i f (x + ia) for any i Z. The question asks to compute
the matrix elements of the operator A, ie Aij = hbi | A |bj i. We will use the expression of the
hyperbolic functions in terms of exponentials:
!
!





ea x ea x
ea x + ea x
7
3

+ 5 cosh a
=2
+5
= ea x + ea x
A = 2 sinh a
x
x
2
2
2
2
The exponential of an operator is defined by its Taylor expansion so that we obtain

ea x |bj i = ea x f (x + ja) = 1 af 0 (x + ja) +

4

a2 00
f (x + aj) + ...
2

But this is exactly the expansion of f (x + ja a) = f (x + (j 1)a) around x + ja so that the result
is

7
7
3
7
3
3
Aij = hbi | ea x |bj i + hbi | ea x |bj i = hbi |bj+1 i + hbi |bj1 i = i,j+1 + i,j1
2
2
2
2
2
2
The last step comes from the fact that the basis is orthonormal. The matrix should look something
like

0 3 0
1
A = 7 0 3
2
0 7 0

Of course one could have just noticed that x

is the generator of translations so that its exponential
translates a function by a certain amount.

Question 5 (5+5+5)
We need to find the energy levels allowed in each situation. The equation that we need to solve is
the same in both directions (split the wave function like (x, y) = x (x)y (y)). It is simple since
the potential is 0 on the surface of the shape and the solutions are then
!
!
r
r
2mEx
2mEx
x + B sin
x
x (x) = A cos
~2
~2
This is true no matter what case and the difference is in the boundary conditions.
i) For the box, each direction is confined so the conditions are x (0) = x (L) = 0. From the first
one we get A = 0 and from the second one we have
2mEx
n2x 2 ~2
L
=
n

E
=
x
x
~2
2mL2
Its exactly the same in the y direction so the total energy is
E = Ex + Ey =
q

2 ~2 2
(n + n2y )
2mL2 x
2

E
This is the equation of a circle of radius 2mL
in the space of (nx , ny ) and each point in
2 ~2
the space represents an energy level. We can approximate the number N of energy levels
occupied by particles when the maximum level is at energy EF (ie look at a circle of radius
EF ) by the area of the circle. We need only a quarter of the circle since nx and ny need to be
positive because the negative ones dont give new wave functions. We also double the number
of particles because two fermions can occupy the same level, one for each spin.

N =2

1 2mL2 EF
N ~2
1
Area(circle) =
EFsquare =
2
2
4
2
~
mL2

ii) For the cylinder, one of the directions is confined like before so it gives the same contribution
to the energy and the other direction is periodic (say x is periodic). The condition is then
x (x) = x (x + L) so that
!
!
!
!
r
r
r
r
2mEx
2mEx
2mEx
2mEx
x +B sin
x = A cos
(x + L) +B sin
(x + L)
A cos
~2
~2
~2
~2
Since this must be true for any x we need
r
2mEx
2n2x 2 ~2
L
=
2n

E
=
x
x
~2
mL2
The total energy is
2 ~2
(4n2x + n2y )
2mL2
The argument for the Fermi energy is then the same but the figure of which we want the area
is an ellipse. Also we take only half of the ellipse since this time we have to consider every
value of nx .
r
r
1
N ~2
2mL2 EF 2mL2 EF
N = 2 Area(ellipse) =

E
=
F
cylinder
2
4 2 ~2
2 ~2
mL2
E = Ex + Ey =

iii) For the torus both directions are periodic so the energy is
E = Ex + Ey =

2 2 ~2 2
(n + n2y )
mL2 x

The figure is again a circle and we need to count all of its area because no quantum number is
redundant.
mL2 EF
N ~2
N = 2 Area(torus) = 2

E
=
F
torus
2 2 ~2
mL2
The Fermi energy is the same for every shape!

Question 6 (5+5+5)
a) We can find the energies:
E0 with probability | hu1 |(0)i |2 = 0.5
2E0 with probability | hu2 |(0)i |2 = 0.25
3E0 with probability | hu3 |(0)i |2 = 0.25


The uncertainty in the energy is defined as (E)2 = E 2 hEi2 . These quantities are pretty
easy to compute

2
E = 0.5 E02 + 0.25 (2E0 )2 + 0.25 (3E0 )2 = 3.75E02
hEi = 0.5 E0 + 0.25 2E0 + 0.25 3E0 = 1.75E0
6

p
So E = 3.75E0 (1.75E0 )2 =

|(t)i =

11E0
. The state evolves in time according to
4

e2iE0 t/~
e3iE0 t/~
eiE0 t/~

|u1 i +
|u2 i +
|u3 i
2
2
2

The uncertainty doesnt change in time because the probabilities stay the same.
b) The possible values that we can measure are the eigenvalues of A and B so we need to find those.
From the action of A on the basis states we can find the matrix elements Aij = hui | A |uj i =
j hui |uj+1 i = j i,j+1 and similarly Bij = hui | B |uj i = j hui |uj+1 i + j hui |uj+2 i = j i,j+1 +
j i,j+2 . We will assume i = i = i = 1 for simplicity. However note that an observable in
quantum mechanics must be Hermitian and A is not. We should then consider the Hermitian
matrix A = iA iA instead (A + A would be simpler but its exactly B). With that we build
the matrices that we will use.

0 1 1
0 i i
0 i B = 1 0 1
A = i
1 1 0
i i
0
The eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the matrices are (be careful since if you took the nonHermitian matrices the eigenvectors are not orthogonal, also here since 2 eigenvalues of B are
the same their eigenvectors are not orthogonal, but we will not care about it):
|A1 i =
|A2 i =
|A2 i =
|B1 i =
|B2 i =
|B3 i =

1 (|u1 i + |u2 i + |u3 i) with eigenvalue 0

3
1 (e2i/3 |u1 i + e2i/3 |u2 i + |u3 i) with
3
1
(e2i/3 |u1 i + e2i/3 |u2 i + |u3 i) with
3
1 (|u1 i + |u2 i + |u3 i) with eigenvalue
3
1
( |u1 i + |u3 i) with eigenvalue 1
2
1
( |u1 i + |u2 i) with eigenvalue 1
2

eigenvalue 3
eigenvalue

B) = ( 3, 2) and the idea is exactly

I will only do the procedure for one couple of results (A,

the same for the 5 other pairs. If we measure A first the probability of finding 3 is
| hA2 |(0)i |2 = 0.014
And after obtaining this result the system collapses in the state |A2 i to then evolve to
1
|(t0 )i = (e2i/3 eiE0 t0 /~ |u1 i + e2i/3 e2iE0 t0 /~ |u2 i + e3iE0 t0 /~ |u3 i)
3
If we measure B on that state at time t0 = ~/E0 the probability of getting 2 is
| hB1 |(~/E0 )i |2 = 0.104
and the system will collapse into the eigenstate |B1 i to finally evolve into
1
|(t)i = (eiE0 (tt0 )/~ |u1 i + e2iE0 (tt0 )/~ |u2 i + e3iE0 (tt0 )/~ |u3 i)
3
7


Overall the probability of measuring the pair ( 3, 2) if we measure A first is 0.0015 .
Now if we start by measuring B the probability of getting 2 is
| hB1 |(0)i |2 = 0.97
And after obtaining this result the system collapses in the state |B1 i to then evolve to
1
|(t0 )i = (eiE0 t0 /~ |u1 i + e2iE0 t0 /~ |u2 i + e3iE0 t0 /~ |u3 i)
3

If we measure A on that state at time t0 = ~/E0 the probability of getting 3 is

| hA2 |(~/E0 )i |2 = 0.104
and the system will collapse into the eigenstate |A2 i to finally evolve into
1
|(t0 )i = (e2i/3 eiE0 (tt0 )/~ |u1 i + e2i/3 e2iE0 (tt0 )/~ |u2 i + e3iE0 (tt0 )/~ |u3 i)
3

Overall the probability of measuring the pair ( 3, 2) if we measure B first is 0.1 .

We see that the final state is not the same, which is normal since it depends directly on the last
measure that we did. Also the probabilities are not the same so the operators dont commute.
c) We will now work in the new basis of |u0i i, the eigenstates of the unperturbed new Hamiltonian.
The molecule is linear so the energy of the electron is the same no matter around which atom
it is. The perturbed Hamiltonian is then written
0

E0 a
0
0
= H 0 + W = a E00 a
Hperturbed
0
a E00
This time there is no problem with Hermiticity. The orthonormalized eigenstates and eigenvalues
of this matrix are going to be the basis according to which the system evolves. They are:
|1 i =
|2 i =
|3 i =

1 (|u0 i |u0 i) with energy E 0

1
3
0
2

1
0
0
0
2 (|u1 i + 2 |u2 i + |u3 i) with energy

1
0
0
0
2 (|u1 i 2 |u2 i + |u3 i) with energy

E00 + a 2

E00 a 2

We must write the old basis as a function of the new basis:

|u01 i = 12 ( 2 |1 i + |2 i + |3 i)
|u02 i =
|u03 i =

1 (|2 i |3 i)
2

1
(
2 |1 i + |2 i
2

+ |3 i)

The system is initially in the state |(0)i = |u01 i so at a later time it is

1
0
0
0
|(t)i = ( 2eiE0 t/~ |1 i + ei(E0 +a 2)t/~ |2 i + ei(E0 a 2)t/~ |3 i)
2

The probabilities of measuring the electron around the different atoms at a certain time are
8

 2
1 + cos a ~2t
 
P2 (t) = | hu02 |(t)i |2 = 12 sin2 a ~2t

 2
P3 (t) = | hu03 |(t)i |2 = 14 1 cos a ~2t
P1 (t) = | hu01 |(t)i |2 =

1
4

To know at what time the electron is localized around one atom we simply look at when the
probabilities are 1.
P1 (t) = 1 tn =

2~n
around atom 1
a 2

P2 (t) = 1 no solution so never around atom 2

P3 (t) = 1 tn =

(2n + 1)~n

around atom 3
a 2