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Quantum mechanics

Eugen Merzbacher

Chapter 15

The Quantum Dynamics of a Particle - all with Video Answers

Educators


Chapter Questions

Problem 1

For a system that is characterized by the coordinate $\mathbf{r}$ and the conjugate momentum p, show that the expectation value of an operator $F$ can be expressed in terms of the Wigner distribution $W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right)$ as
$$
\langle F\rangle=\langle\Psi|F| \Psi\rangle=\iint F_W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right) W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right) d^3 r^{\prime} d^3 p^{\prime}
$$
where
$$
F_W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right)=\int e^{(d / /) \mathbf{p}^{\prime} \cdot \mathbf{r}^{\prime}}\left\langle\mathbf{r}^{\prime}-\frac{\mathbf{r}^{\prime \prime}}{2}|F| \mathbf{r}^{\prime}+\frac{\mathbf{r}^{\prime \prime}}{2}\right\rangle d^3 r^{\prime \prime}
$$
and where the function $W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right)$ is defined in Problem 5 in Chapter 3. Show that for the special cases $F=f(\mathbf{r})$ and $F=g(\mathbf{p})$ these formulas reduce to those obtained in Problems 5 and 6 in Chapter 3, that is, $F_W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}\right)=f\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}\right)$ and $F_W\left(\mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right)=g\left(\mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right)$.

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22:40

Problem 2

Show that the probability current density at $\mathbf{r}_0$ is obtained with
$$
\mathbf{j}_w\left(\mathbf{r}_0 ; \mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right)=\frac{\mathbf{p}^{\prime}}{2 m} \delta\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}-\mathbf{r}_0\right)
$$
so that the current density at $\mathbf{r}_0$ is
$$
\mathbf{j}\left(\mathbf{r}_0\right)=\int W\left(\mathbf{r}_0, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right) \frac{\mathbf{p}^{\prime}}{2 m} d^3 p^{\prime}
$$

Dr. Rajveer Singh
Dr. Rajveer Singh
Numerade Educator
05:34

Problem 3

Derive the Wigner distribution function for an isotropic harmonic oscillator in the ground state.

Ameer Said
Ameer Said
Numerade Educator
01:35

Problem 4

Prove that for a pure state the density operator $|\Psi\rangle\langle\Psi|$ is represented in the Wigner distribution formalism by
$$
\rho_W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right)=(2 \pi \hbar)^3 W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}\right)
$$

Check that this simple result is in accord with the normalization condition $\langle\rho\rangle=1$ for the density operator.

Chai Santi
Chai Santi
Numerade Educator
03:50

Problem 5

. For a free particle, derive the equation of motion for the Wigner distribution
$$
\frac{\partial W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}, t\right)}{\partial t}+\frac{\mathbf{p}^{\prime}}{m} \cdot \nabla_{\mathbf{r}^{\prime}} W\left(\mathbf{r}^{\prime}, \mathbf{p}^{\prime}, t\right)=0
$$
from the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. What does the equation of motion for $W$ for a particle in a potential $V(r)$ look like?

Laszlo Zalavari
Laszlo Zalavari
Numerade Educator

Problem 6

Two particles of equal mass are constrained to move on a straight line in a common harmonic oscillator potential and are coupled by a force that depends only on the distance between the particles. Construct the Schrodinger equation for the system and transform it into a separable equation by using relative coordinates and the coordinates of the center of mass. Show that the same equation is obtained by first constructing a separable classical Hamiltonian and subjecting it to canonical quantization.

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Problem 7

Assuming that the two particles of the preceding problem are coupled by an elastic force (proportional to the displacement), obtain the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Schrödinger equation and show that the eigenfunctions are either symmetric or antisymmetric with respect to an interchange of the two particles.

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