PH-101

Wave Properties of Particles

Dr. A. K. Singh
Department of Physics & Astronomy
National Institute of Technology
Rourkela-769008
 de Broglie waves
A moving body behaves in certain ways as though it has a wave nature

A photon of light of frequency ν has the momentum

since λμ=c. The wavelength of a photon is therefore specified by its momentum

according to the relation

De Broglie suggested above Eq. is a completely general one that applies to material
particles as well as to photons. The momentum of a particle of mass m and velocity
v is p =ϒmv, and its de Broglie wavelength is accordingly
 WAVES OF WHAT? Waves of probability

 In water waves, the quantity that varies periodically is

the height of the water surface.
In sound waves, it is pressure.
In light waves, electric and magnetic fields vary.
What is it that varies in the case of matter waves?
 Wave function (ψ ): The quantity whose variation
make up matter waves.

 Ψ associated with a moving body at a particular point

(x,y,z) in space at the time t is related to the likelihood
of finding the body there at that time.
 WAVES OF WHAT? Waves of probability
 The wave function ψ itself, however, has no direct physical
significance.
There is a simple reason why cannot by interpreted in terms
of an experiment. The probability that something be in a certain
place at a given time must lie between 0 (the object is definitely not
there) and 1 (the object is definitely there).
An intermediate probability, say 0.2, means that there is a
20% chance of finding the object. But the amplitude of a wave can
be negative as well as positive, and a negative probability, say 0.2,
is meaningless.

Hence by itself cannot be an observable quantity. This objection

does not apply to ψ2, the square of the absolute value of the wave
function, which is known as probability density:
 WAVES OF WHAT? Waves of probability

 The probability of experimentally finding the body described by

the wave function at the point x, y, z, at the time t is
proportional to the value of mod ψ2 there at t.
 A large value of mod ψ2 means the strong possibility of the
body’s presence, while a small value of mod ψ2 means the slight
possibility of its presence. As long as mod ψ2 is not actually 0
somewhere, however, there is a definite chance, however small,
of detecting it there.
This interpretation was first made by Max Born in 1926.
 There is a big difference between the probability of an event
and the event itself. Although we can speak of the wave
function that describes a particle as being spread out in space,
this does not mean that the particle itself is thus spread out.

 When an experiment is performed to detect electrons, for

instance, a whole electron is either found at a certain time and
place or it is not; there is no such thing as a 20 percent of an
electron. However, it is entirely possible for there to be a 20
percent chance that the electron be found at that time and
place, and it is this likelihood that is specified by ψ 2.
 W. L. Bragg, the pioneer in x-ray diffraction, gave this loose but
vivid interpretation: “The dividing line between the wave and
particle nature of matter and radiation is the moment ‘now.’ As
this moment steadily advances through time it coagulates a
wavy future into a particle past. . . . Everything in the future is a
wave, everything in the past is a particle.” If “the moment ‘now’
” is understood to be the time a measurement is performed,
this is a reasonable way to think about the situation.

 (The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard may have been anticipating

this aspect of modern physics when he wrote, “Life can only be
understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”)
 Describing a Wave
How fast do de Broglie waves travel?

If we call the de Broglie wave velocity vp, we can apply the usual formula vp=νλ

to find vp. The wavelength λ is simply the de Broglie wavelength λ=h/γmv.

To find the frequency, we equate the quantum expression E=hν with the
relativistic formula for total energy E=γmc2 to obtain

hν=γmc2 → ν= γmc2/h

Because the particle velocity v must be less than the velocity of light c, the
de Broglie waves always travel faster than light! In order to understand this
unexpected result, we must look into the distinction between phase velocity
and group velocity.
 Let us begin by reviewing how waves are described mathematically. For
simplicity we consider a string stretched along the x axis whose
vibrations are in the y direction and are simple harmonic in character. If
we choose t= 0 when the displacement y of the string at x = 0 is a
maximum, its displacement at any future time t at the same place is
shown:
where A =amplitude of the vibrations
ν= frequency.
The wave equation at any point on the string at any time will be a function of both x and t.

To obtain such a formula, let us imagine that we shake the string at x= 0 when t
=0, so that a wave starts to travel down the string in the +x- direction. This wave
has some speed vp that depends on the properties of the string. The wave travels
the distance x= vpt in the time t, so the time interval between the formation of the
wave at x=0 and its arrival at the point x is x/ vp. Hence the displacement y of the
string at x at any time t is exactly the same as the value of y at x= 0 at the earlier
time t x/ vp. So, we have the desired formula giving y in terms of both x and t:
 Phase and Group velocity
• A group of waves need not have same velocity as the
waves themselves
• De Broglie waves cannot be represented simply by the
formula, which describes the indefinite series of waves
all with the same amplitude ‘A’. Instead we expect the
wave representation of a moving body to correspond to a
wave pocket or wave group as shown.
• A wave group can be expressed in terms of
superposition of individual waves of different
wavelengths whose interference with one another
results in the variation in amplitude that defines the
group shape.
• If the velocity of the waves
are same, the velocity with
which the wave group travels
is the common phase velocity
• If the phase velocity varies with wavelength an effect
called dispersion, the different individual waves do not
proceed together.
Formation of Group wave
Let us suppose that the wave group arises from the combination of
two waves that have the same amplitude A but differ by an amount
Δω in angular frequency and an amount Δk in wave number. We may
represent the original waves by the formulas

Apply superposition principle: y=y1+y2

Since Δω and Δk are small compared with ω and k respectively,

A wave of angular frequency ω and wave number k that has superimposed
upon it a modulation of angular frequency Δω and of wave number and Δk/2.

When ω and k have continuous spreads instead of the two values:

Depending on how phase velocity varies with wave number in a particular

situation, the group velocity may be less or greater than the phase
velocities of its member waves. If the phase velocity is the same for all
wavelengths, as is true for light waves in empty space, the group and
phase velocities are the same.
The angular frequency and wave number of the de Broglie waves
associated with a body of mass m moving with the velocity v are

Both ω and k are functions of the body’s velocity v.

The group velocity vg of the de Broglie waves associated with the body is

de Broglie wave group for a moving body travels with the same velocity as the body.

i.e. vp>v and vp>c. However, vp has no physical significance.

Wave packet, phase velocity and group velocity

• The velocities of the individual waves which

superpose to produce the wave packet representing the
particle are different - the wave packet as a whole has
a different velocity from the waves that comprise it

• Phase velocity: The rate at which the phase of the

wave propagates in space

• Group velocity: The rate at which the envelope of

the wave packet propagates

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 The Group Velocity

This is the velocity at which the overall shape of the wave’s

amplitudes, or the wave ‘envelope’, propagates. (= signal
velocity)
Here, phase velocity = group velocity (the medium is non-
dispersive) 17
 Dispersion: phase/group velocity depends on
frequency

Black dot moves at phase velocity. Red dot moves at group velocity.

This is normal dispersion (refractive index decreases with increasing λ)

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 Dispersion: phase/group velocity depends on
frequency

Black dot moves at group velocity. Red dot moves at phase velocity.

This is anomalous dispersion (refractive index increases with increasing λ)

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 Particle Diffraction
An experiment that confirms the existence of de Broglie waves.
In 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer (USA) and G. P. Thomson
(England) confirmed de Broglie’s hypothesis by demonstrating that electron
beams are diffracted when they are scattered by the regular atomic arrays
of crystals.
 Particle Diffraction…

The Bragg equation for diffraction pattern is

nλ=2dsinθ
Here d= 0.091 nm and θ=65°. For n=1 the de
Broglie wavelength λ of the diffracted
electrons is
λ =2d sin θ=(2)(0.091 nm)(sin65)=0.165 nm
 Particle Diffraction…

Now we use de Broglie’s formula λ=h/mv

(KE)electron= 54 eV <<<(Rest mass energy)electron
So we can let γ=1
 Particle in Box
Why the energy of a trapped particle is quantized?
The general formula for the permitted wavelengths is

The kinetic energy of a particle of momentum mv is

The permitted wavelengths are λn=2L/n, and so, because the particle has no
potential energy in this model, the only energies it can have are

Each permitted energy is called an energy level, and the integer n that specifies
an energy level En is called its quantum number.

Conclusion
1. A trapped particle cannot have an arbitrary energy, as a free particle can.
2. A trapped particle cannot have zero energy. Since the de Broglie wavelength of
the particle is λ=h/mv, a speed of v=0 means an infinite wavelength.
3. Because Planck’s constant is so small—only 6.63×10-34 J s—quantization of
energy is conspicuous only when m and L are also small.
 Uncertainty Principle-I
We cannot know the future because we cannot know the present

It is impossible to know both the exact position and exact momentum

of an object at the same time.

(a) A narrow de Broglie wave group. The position of the particle can be precisely
determined, but the wavelength (and hence the particle's momentum) cannot be
established because there are not enough waves to measure accurately. (b) A
wide wave group. Now the wavelength can be precisely determined but not the
position of the particle.
At a certain time t, the wave group Ψ(x) can be represented by the Fourier integral

An isolated wave group is the result of superposing an infinite number of waves

with different wavelengths. The narrower the wave group, the greater the range
of wavelengths involved. A narrow de Broglie wave group thus means a well-
defined position (Δx smaller) but a poorly defined wavelength and a large
uncertainty Δp in the momentum of the particle the group represents. A wide
wave group means a more precise momentum but a less precise position.
1. The relationship between the distance Δx and the wave-number spread
Δ k depends upon the shape of the wave group and upon how Δx and
Δk are defined.
2. The minimum value of the product Δ xΔ k occurs when the envelope of
the group has the familiar bell shape of a Gaussian function. In this case
the Fourier transform happens to be a Gaussian function also.
3. The relationship between Δ x and Δ k as: Δ xΔk≥1/2

The wave functions and Fourier transforms for (a) a pulse, (b) a
wave group, (c) a wave train, and (d) a Gaussian distribution.
The de Broglie wavelength of a particle of momentum p is λ=h/p and the
corresponding wave number is

In terms of wave number the particle’s momentum is therefore

Hence an uncertainty Δk in the wave number of the de Broglie waves

associated with the particle results in an uncertainty Δp in the particle’s
momentum according to the formula
 Uncertainty Principle-I
A particle approach gives the same result.

An electron cannot be observed without changing its momentum.