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Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General

Lessons from a time-dependent model

Csaba Balázs

Published Sep 7, 1990• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A particle is moving in an external field described by a stationary attractive potential and a time-dependent repulsive potential. It is shown that exact solutions of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation can be found for separable potentials. For a particle initially in a bound state the probability of remaining bound, and its energy spectrum in case it escapes, are calculated.

DOI
10.1088/0305-4470/23/17/025

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A particle is moving in an external field described by a stationary attractive potential and a time-dependent repulsive potential. It is shown that exact solutions of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation can be found for separable potentials. For a particle initially in a bound state the probability of remaining bound, and its energy spectrum in case it escapes, are calculated.
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Analytical solutions to the time-dependent Shrödinger equation in one dimension are developed for time-independent potentials, one consisting of an infinite wall and a repulsive delta function. An exact solution is obtained by means of a convolution of time-independent solutions spanning the given Hilbert space with appropriately chosen spectral functions. Square-integrability and the boundary conditions are satisfied. The probability for the particle to be found inside the potential well is calculated and shown to exhibit non-exponential decay decreasing at large times as t−3t^{-3}t−3. The result is generalized for all square-integrable solutions to this problem.
In all the applications of the formalism of quantum theory, we have considered mainly time-independent potential functions, V ( r , t ) = V ( r ). Such potentials made it easier to solve exactly the Schrodinger's equation or by solving the Schrodinger's equation approximately by using perturbation theory. The solution of the Schrodinger equation for time-independent potentials is obtained by using method of separable variables. The solution of time-independent Schrodinger gives stationary states, and the time dependence of the wave function is obtained by adding a phase factor to the stationary state. The schematic that follows describes such an approach ( Figure 7.1 ).
The time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) contains two variables: position and time. Therefore, the solutions are functions of both space and time (x and t, if we limit ourselves to particles moving in one dimension). It turns out that the easiest way to "solve" such an equation of two variables is to perform a separation of variables. We show that if the potential does not change with time, then certain special solutions (eigenfunctions) can be written as a product of a space function and a time function: Ψ(x,t) = ψ(x) f(t). By assuming a "separable" solution of this form, and plugging into the TDSE, the TDSE itself can be separated into two equations: the time-independent Schrödinger equation (TISE) with solution ψ(x), and the space-independent Schrödinger equation (SISE) with solution f(t). Furthermore, f(t) always equals e -iωt , while ψ(x) depends on the potential. So, for potentials that do not vary with time, we need only solve the much simpler TISE in order to investigate the energy, momentum, and so on of the particle. This is why, for the remainder of this book, we only use the TISE.
Abstract We discuss the procedure of solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation via a separation ansatz that leads to the time-independent Schrödinger equation. The resulting equation is in the form of an eigenvalue problem for the Hamiltonian, whose solutions are the stationary states. We derive and discuss the bound states and corresponding energy levels for several one-dimensional potentials of interest, including the finite and infinite potential well, the Dirac-delta potential, and the square double-well modelling the spatial configuration of the ammonia molecule. We then turn to the scattered solutions and discuss reflection from and transmission through a finite potential barrier, thus encountering the tunnel effect, which we in turn formulate more generally using the Gamow factor. This leads us to the interesting phenomenon of tunnelling resonances
The postulates of quantum mechanics associate the time-evolution of a system with its time-dependent Schrödinger equation. We start by examining different solutions to this equation for a particle, represented in terms of a Gaussian wave packet, in different scenarios: free, scattered from a potential energy barrier, or trapped in a potential energy well. In some cases, we encounter stationary solutions, in which the probability density does not change in time (a standing wave). These solutions are identified as eigenfunctions of a system Hamiltonian. The properties of the Hamiltonian as a Hermitian operator are introduced, and particularly, the fact that its proper eigenfunctions can compose an orthonormal set, and that the corresponding eigenvalues are real-valued. Learning that all operators that relate to measurables are Hermitian, and that their eigenvalues relate to the measured values, we conclude that the eigenvalues of the energy operator (Hamiltonian) are the energy levels of the quantum system.