Quantum Physics

Homework III

Rahmanyaz Annyyev (2604619)

December 7, 2024

Department of Physics
Middle East Technical University
[Modified December 8, 2024]
PHYS300 ■ Homework III 1/4

Question 1
Solution. To find ℎ4 (𝑦), we set 𝐶1 = 0. Setting 𝑚 = 0 in the recursion relation gives

2 (0 − 4) 2 (4)
𝐶2 = 𝐶0 = − = −4𝐶0
(0 + 1) (0 + 2) (1) (2)
Setting 𝑚 = 2 gives
2 (2 − 4) 2 (2) 1 4
𝐶4 = 𝐶2 = − 𝐶2 = − 𝐶2 = 𝐶0
(2 + 1) (2 + 2) (3) (4) 3 3
Hence, the polynomial is
4
ℎ4 (𝑦) = 𝐶0 − 4𝐶0 𝑦 2 + 𝐶0 𝑦 4
3
To fix the constant 𝐶0 , we write
4
𝐶0 = 24 = 16
3
Solving for 𝐶0 gives
𝐶0 = 12

Finally, the polynomial is

Fourth-order
Hermite polynomial
ℎ 4 (𝑦) = 16𝑦 4 − 48𝑦 2 + 12

To find ℎ5 (𝑦), we set 𝐶0 = 0. Setting 𝑚 = 1 in the recursion relation gives

2 (1 − 5) 2 (4) 4
𝐶3 = 𝐶1 = − 𝐶1 = − 𝐶1
(1 + 1) (1 + 2) (2) (3) 3
Setting 𝑚 = 3 gives
2 (3 − 5) 2 (2) 1 4
𝐶5 = 𝐶3 = − 𝐶3 = − 𝐶3 = 𝐶1
(3 + 1) (3 + 2) (4) (5) 5 15
Hence, the polynomial is
4 4
ℎ5 (𝑦) = 𝐶1 𝑦 − 𝐶1 𝑦 3 + 𝐶1 𝑦 5
3 15
To fix the constant 𝐶1 , we write
4
𝐶1 = 25 = 32
15
Solving for 𝐶1 gives
𝐶1 = 120

Finally, the polynomial is

Fifth-order Hermite
polynomial
ℎ 5 (𝑦) = 32𝑦 5 − 160𝑦 3 + 120𝑦

Question 2
Solution. (a) The normalization condition is given by
∫ ∞ ∫ ∞
2
|Ψ(𝑥, 0)| 𝑑𝑥 = Ψ∗ (𝑥, 0)Ψ(𝑥, 0) 𝑑𝑥 = 1
−∞ −∞

Rahmanyaz Annyyev (2604619) December 7, 2024

Question 2 2/4

The complex conjugate of the given wave function is

h 2 2
i
Ψ∗ (𝑥, 0) = 𝑁 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥+𝑥0 ) /2
+ 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥−𝑥0 ) /2

Hence, we have
h 2 2
i2
Ψ∗ (𝑥, 0)Ψ(𝑥, 0) = 𝑁 2 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥+𝑥0 ) /2
+ 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥−𝑥0 ) /2

h 2
i
= 𝑁 2 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥+𝑥0 ) + 2𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥
2 +𝑥 2
0 ) + 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥−𝑥0 )2

The integral of the above expression is

∫ ∞ ∫ ∞ h i
2
2
|Ψ(𝑥, 0)| 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑁 2
𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥+𝑥0 ) + 2𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥
2 +𝑥 2
0 ) + 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥−𝑥0 )2 𝑑𝑥
−∞ −∞
∫ ∞ ∫ ∞ ∫ ∞ 
−𝛼 (𝑥 2 +2𝑥 0 𝑥 ) −𝛼𝑥02 −𝛼𝑥 2 −𝛼𝑥 02 −𝛼 (𝑥 2 −2𝑥0 𝑥 ) −𝛼𝑥 02
=𝑁 2
𝑒 𝑒 𝑑𝑥 + 2 𝑒 𝑒 𝑑𝑥 + 𝑒 𝑒 𝑑𝑥
−∞ −∞ −∞
∫ ∞ ∫ ∞ ∫ ∞ 
𝑒 −(𝛼𝑥 0𝑥 ) 𝑑𝑥 + 2 𝑒 −(𝛼𝑥 0𝑥 ) 𝑑𝑥
2 2 +2𝛼𝑥 2 2 +2(−𝛼)𝑥
= 𝑁 2 𝑒 −𝛼𝑥0 𝑒 −𝛼𝑥 𝑑𝑥 +
−∞ −∞ −∞

To evaluate the integral of the form ∫ ∞

𝑒 −(𝐴𝑥 ) 𝑑𝑥
2 +𝐵𝑥

−∞
√
we use the substitution 𝑦 = 𝐴 [𝑥 + 𝐵/(2𝐴)]. Then, 𝑦 2 becomes

𝐵 𝐵2
 
𝑦2 = 𝐴 𝑥2 + 𝑥+
𝐴 4𝐴2
𝐵2
= 𝐴𝑥 2 + 𝐵𝑥 +
4𝐴
Thus,
𝐵2
𝑦2 − = 𝐴𝑥 2 + 𝐵𝑥
4𝐴
√
Since 𝑑𝑦 = 𝐴 𝑑𝑥, the integral can be rewritten as
∞
𝑒 𝐵 /(4𝐴)
∫ 2 ∫ ∞
1 −𝑦 2 +𝐵2 /(4𝐴) 2
√ 𝑒 𝑑𝑦 = √ 𝑒 −𝑦 𝑑𝑦
𝐴 −∞ 𝐴 −∞

2𝑒 𝐵 /(4𝐴)
2 ∫ ∞
2
= √ 𝑒 −𝑦 𝑑𝑦
𝐴 0
√
2𝑒 𝐵 /(4𝐴)
2
𝜋
= √
𝐴 2
𝜋
r
𝐵2 /(4𝐴)
=𝑒
𝐴

In the first integral, 𝐴 = 𝛼 and 𝐵 = 2𝛼𝑥0 . Hence, the first integral evaluates to
∞
𝜋
∫ r
−( 𝛼𝑥 2 +2𝛼𝑥0 𝑥 ) 𝛼𝑥02
𝑒 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑒
−∞ 𝛼
In the second integral, 𝐴 = 𝛼 and 𝐵 = 0. Hence, the second integral evaluates to
∞
𝜋
∫ r
−𝛼𝑥 2
𝑒 𝑑𝑥 =
−∞ 𝛼

Rahmanyaz Annyyev (2604619) December 7, 2024

PHYS300 ■ Homework III 3/4

In the third integral, 𝐴 = 𝛼 and 𝐵 = −2𝛼𝑥0 . Hence, the third integral evaluates to
∞
𝜋
∫ r
−( 𝛼𝑥 2 +(−2)𝛼𝑥0 𝑥 ) 𝛼𝑥02
𝑒 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑒
−∞ 𝛼
Hence, we have
∞
𝜋 𝜋 𝜋
∫  r r r 
𝛼𝑥02
2 −𝛼𝑥 02
+ 𝑒 𝛼𝑥0
2 2
|Ψ(𝑥, 0)| 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑁 𝑒 𝑒 +2
−∞ 𝛼 𝛼 𝛼
𝜋 𝜋
 r r 
2
= 𝑁2 2 + 2𝑒 −𝛼𝑥0
𝛼 𝛼
𝜋
r 
2
= 2𝑁 2
1 + 𝑒 −𝛼𝑥0
𝛼
Solving for 𝑁 gives
 𝛼  1/4  2
 −1/2
Normalization
constant
𝑁= 1 + 𝑒 −𝛼𝑥0
4𝜋

The normalized wave function is then

 𝛼  1/4  2
 −1/2 h 2 2
i
Ψ(𝑥, 0) = 1 + 𝑒 −𝛼𝑥0 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥+𝑥0 ) /2
+ 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥−𝑥0 ) /2
4𝜋

(b) Recall the expression for the wave function of a free particle at time 𝑡 given by
∫ ∞  2

1 𝑖 𝑘𝑥− ℏ𝑘
2𝑚 𝑡
Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡) = √ 𝜙(𝑘)𝑒 𝑑𝑘
2𝜋 −∞

where the function 𝜙(𝑘) is the Fourier transform of the wave function Ψ(𝑥, 0), i.e.,
∫ ∞
1
𝜙(𝑘) = √ Ψ(𝑥, 0)𝑒 −𝑖𝑘𝑥 𝑑𝑥
2𝜋 −∞

Let’s find 𝜙(𝑘) for the given wave function. The Fourier transform of the wave function is
∫∞
1
𝜙(𝑘) = √ Ψ(𝑥, 0)𝑒 −𝑖 𝑘𝑥 𝑑𝑥
2𝜋 −∞
∫ ∞h
𝑁 2 2
i
= √ 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥+𝑥0 ) /2 + 𝑒 −𝛼(𝑥−𝑥0 ) /2 𝑒 −𝑖𝑘𝑥 𝑑𝑥
2𝜋 −∞
∫ ∞h
𝑁 i
𝑒 −(𝛼𝑥 +2𝛼𝑥0 𝑥+𝛼𝑥0 )/2 + 𝑒 −(𝛼𝑥 −2𝛼𝑥0 𝑥+𝛼𝑥0 )/2 𝑒 −𝑖𝑘𝑥 𝑑𝑥
2 2 2 2
= √
2𝜋 −∞
𝑁 −𝛼𝑥 2 /2 ∞ h −(𝛼𝑥 2 +2𝛼𝑥0 𝑥 )/2
∫ i
+ 𝑒 −(𝛼𝑥 −2𝛼𝑥0 𝑥 )/2 𝑒 −2𝑖𝑘𝑥/2 𝑑𝑥
2
= √ 𝑒 0 𝑒
2𝜋 −∞
𝑁 −𝛼𝑥 2 /2 ∞ h −(𝛼𝑥 2 +2𝛼𝑥0 𝑥+2𝑖𝑘𝑥 )/2
∫ i
+ 𝑒 −(𝛼𝑥 −2𝛼𝑥0 𝑥+2𝑖𝑘𝑥 )/2 𝑑𝑥
2
= √ 𝑒 0 𝑒
2𝜋 −∞
∫ ∞h
𝑁 i
𝑒 −[(𝛼/2)𝑥 +(𝛼𝑥0 +𝑖𝑘)𝑥 ] + 𝑒 −[(𝛼/2)𝑥 +(−𝛼𝑥0 𝑥+𝑖𝑘)𝑥 ] 𝑑𝑥
2 2 2
= √ 𝑒 −𝛼𝑥0 /2
2𝜋 −∞
∫ ∞ ∫ ∞
𝑁 −𝛼𝑥 2 /2

−[(𝛼/2)𝑥 2 +(𝛼𝑥0 +𝑖𝑘)𝑥 ] −[(𝛼/2)𝑥 2 +(−𝛼𝑥 0 +𝑖𝑘)𝑥 ]
= √ 𝑒 0 𝑒 𝑑𝑥 + 𝑒 𝑑𝑥
2𝜋 −∞ −∞
𝑁 2
= √ 𝑒 −𝑘 /(2𝛼) [𝑖 sin(𝑘𝑥0 ) + cos(𝑘𝑥0 ) − 𝑖 sin(𝑘𝑥 0 ) + cos(𝑘𝑥 0 )]
𝛼
2𝑁 −𝑘 2 /(2𝛼)
= √ 𝑒 cos(𝑘𝑥 0 )
𝛼

Rahmanyaz Annyyev (2604619) December 7, 2024

Question 2 4/4

The integrand in the integral for the wave function is then

 2
  2

𝑖 𝑘𝑥− ℏ𝑘
2𝑚 𝑡
2𝑁 2 𝑖 𝑘𝑥− ℏ𝑘
2𝑚 𝑡
𝜙(𝑘)𝑒 = √ cos(𝑘𝑥 0 )𝑒 −𝑘 /(2𝛼) 𝑒
𝛼
𝑘
 2
ℏ𝑘 2

2𝑁
= √ cos(𝑘𝑥 0 ) exp − + 𝑖 𝑘𝑥 − 𝑖 𝑡
𝛼 2𝛼 2𝑚
𝑘
 2   
2𝑁 ℏ𝛼
= √ cos(𝑘𝑥 0 ) exp − 1 + 𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑖 𝑘𝑥
𝛼 2𝛼 𝑚

Now, we make the following substitution:

ℏ𝛼
𝜏=1+𝑖 𝑡
𝑚
The integrand then becomes  
2
𝑖 𝑘𝑥− ℏ𝑘
2𝑚 𝑡
2𝑁 2
𝜙(𝑘)𝑒 = √ cos(𝑘𝑥0 )𝑒 −𝜏𝑘 /(2𝛼)+𝑖𝑥𝑘
𝛼
Substiuting the obtained expression for the integrand in the integral for the wave function, we have1
∞ ∫
1 2𝑁 2
Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡) = √ √ cos(𝑘𝑥0 )𝑒 −𝜏𝑘 /(2𝛼)+𝑖𝑥𝑘 𝑑𝑘
2𝜋 −∞ 𝛼
∫ ∞
2𝑁 2
=√ cos(𝑘𝑥 0 )𝑒 −𝜏𝑘 /(2𝛼)+𝑖𝑥𝑘 𝑑𝑘
2𝜋𝛼 −∞
∫ ∞  𝑖 𝑘𝑥0
𝑒 + 𝑒 −𝑖𝑘𝑥0 −𝜏𝑘 2 /(2𝛼)+𝑖𝑥𝑘

2𝑁
=√ 𝑒 𝑑𝑘
2𝜋𝛼 −∞ 2
" ! !#
𝜋𝛼 𝑥 2 𝑥 0 𝑥𝛼 𝑥 2 𝛼 𝑥 2 𝑥0 𝑥𝛼 𝑥 2 𝛼
r
2𝑁
=√ exp − 0 + − + exp − 0 − −
2𝜋𝛼 2𝜏 2𝜏 𝜏 2𝜏 2𝜏 𝜏 2𝜏
𝑁 n h 𝛼 i h 𝛼 i o
𝑥02 − 2𝑥0 𝑥 + 𝑥 2 + exp − 𝑥 02 + 2𝑥0 𝑥 + 𝑥 2



= √ exp −
𝜏 2𝜏 2𝜏
𝑁 n h 𝛼 i h 𝛼 io
= √ exp − (𝑥 − 𝑥0 )2 + exp − (𝑥 + 𝑥0 )2
𝜏 2𝜏 2𝜏

Our final expression matches with the wave function given in the problem:

𝑁 2 2
 
−𝛼( 𝑥+𝑥0 ) −𝛼 (𝑥−𝑥0 )
Wave function at
time 𝑡
Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡) = √ 𝑒 2𝜏 + 𝑒 2𝜏
𝜏

1 Due to the complexity of the integral, its result was evaluated using Wolfram Mathematica.

Rahmanyaz Annyyev (2604619) December 7, 2024