Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:quant-ph/9905078

How to build a non-spreading wave packet in quantum mechanics

Stanley A. Bruce

Published May 24, 1999• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum mechanics asserts that a wave packet must inevitably spread as time progresses since the dispersion relation for the quantum waves is assumed to be quadratic in the momentum k. However, this assumption does not consider the standard frequency Doppler shift formula of Galilean relativity. In this article a non-dispersive wave packet is constructed by appropriately considering the transformation rules between the laboratory and the (particle's) rest inertial reference frames.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/9905078

Related papers

Unspread wave packet in quantum mechanics

Stanley A. Bruce

The problem of the evolution in time of a quantum mechanical wave packet is restudied. A nondispersive wave packet is constructed considering appropriately the transformation rules associated with conveniently defined inertial reference frames.

Canadian Journal of Physics•Jun 1, 1984•1 citation

Is the Spreading of Quantum Mechanical Wave Packets Indeed Inevitable?

I. Mayer

It is demonstrated that -- contrary to the common belief -- it is possible to construct solutions of the non-relativistic Schrödinger equation of a free particle, that do not exhibit dispersion. However, it seems that no normalizable wave packets can be built up by their use, so the spreading of the wave packets is indeed inevitable.

arXiv:1209.0711•Sep 3, 2012•0 citations

The diffraction and spreading of a wavepacket

Guy Vandegrift

The spreading of a one-dimensional wavepacket solution of Schrödinger’s equation is related to the diffraction of light, as can be verified by considering the three-dimensional spreading of a wavepacket for an arbitrary dispersion relation. This investigation uncovers a special property of Schrödinger’s equation for a free particle: A wavepacket with initial spherical symmetry will preserve this symmetry in all Galilean reference frames. This property leads to a derivation of de Broglie’s postulate that wave number is proportional to momentum (or velocity). The application to non-Gaussian wavepackets and to Fraunhoffer diffraction also is discussed.

American Journal of Physics•Feb 12, 2004•6 citations

On the theory of wave packets

Dmitry V. Naumov

In this paper we discuss some aspects of the theory of wave packets. We consider a popular noncovariant Gaussian model used in various applications and show that it predicts too slow a longitudinal dispersion rate for relativistic particles. We revise this approach by considering a covariant model of Gaussian wave packets, and examine our results by inspecting a wave packet of arbitrary form. A general formula for the time dependence of the dispersion of a wave packet of arbitrary form is found. Finally, we give a transparent interpretation of the disappearance of the wave function over time due to the dispersion—a feature often considered undesirable, but which is unavoidable for wave packets. We find, starting from simple examples, proceeding with their generalizations and finally by considering the continuity equation, that the integral over time of both the flux and probability densities are asymptotically proportional to the factor 1/| x | 2 in the rest frame of the wave packet, just as in the case of an ensemble of classical particles.

arXiv:1309.1717•Physics of Particles and Nuclei Letters•Dec 1, 2013•46 citations

Wave packet with special relativity demonstrating quantum rules, Schrodinger's equation and propagator integral

I.S. Reed

The physics of special relativity is applied to a wave-packet model of a particle without the usual de Broglie-like assumption of Planck's rule, E = hv. The velocity of the particle is equated to the group-velocity of the wave-packet to associate the particle with its wave-packet. With such an identification it is demonstrated using special relativity that the momentum four-vector, P = [p, E/c2] of the particle is parallel and proportional to a central wave-number four-vector, K0 = [k0. ω0/c2], of the particle's wave-packet. The constant of proportionality, relating these two four-vectors, has the dimension of action and by diffraction experiments it has the value h/2π where h is Planck's constant. This refinement of the de Broglie wave-like nature of a particle suggests that special relativity underlies quantum physics more deeply than heretofore believed. The above quantum rules are used to find the wave-packet function in the one-dimensional case of a non-relativistic free particle and a particle in a conservative force field of potential V (x). This wave-packet function is shown to satisfy an integral time-evolution equation which relates the wave function at time t0 to the function at a slightly later time t. The resulting integral equation is equivalent to the propagator equation or path-integral hypothesised by Feynman. This fact also demonstrates, using the method of Feynman, that the wave-packet function satisfies Schrödinger's partial differential equation. The wave-packet function of a particle in a force field is directly shown to satisfy a linear integral equation which relates the wave-packet at one instant of time to its values at all later times. The kernel or propagator of this integral equation is also equivalent to Feynman's path integral. A computation demonstrates that the position of a moving particle in a simple quadratic potential well does not become more uncertain with the passage of time. This contrasts with the behaviour of a moving free particle which as a function of time becomes more and more difficult to accurately locate.

IEE Proceedings A Science Measurement and Technology•Jan 1, 1991•2 citations

Tomographic Description of a Quantum Wave Packet in an Accelerated Frame

Sergio M. De Nicola, Renato Fedele, Dušan Jovanović +2 more

The tomography of a single quantum particle (i.e., a quantum wave packet) in an accelerated frame is studied. We write the Schrödinger equation in a moving reference frame in which acceleration is uniform in space and an arbitrary function of time. Then, we reduce such a problem to the study of spatiotemporal evolution of the wave packet in an inertial frame in the presence of a homogeneous force field but with an arbitrary time dependence. We demonstrate the existence of a Gaussian wave packet solution, for which the position and momentum uncertainties are unaffected by the uniform force field. This implies that, similar to in the case of a force-free motion, the uncertainty product is unaffected by acceleration. In addition, according to the Ehrenfest theorem, the wave packet centroid moves according to classic Newton's law of a particle experiencing the effects of uniform acceleration. Furthermore, as in free motion, the wave packet exhibits a diffraction spread in the configuration space but not in momentum space. Then, using Radon transform, we determine the quantum tomogram of the Gaussian state evolution in the accelerated frame. Finally, we characterize the wave packet evolution in the accelerated frame in terms of optical and simplectic tomogram evolution in the related tomographic space.

Entropy•May 19, 2021•3 citations
Quantum mechanics asserts that a wave packet must inevitably spread as time progresses since the dispersion relation for the quantum waves is assumed to be quadratic in the momentum k. However, this assumption does not consider the standard frequency Doppler shift formula of Galilean relativity. In this article a non-dispersive wave packet is constructed by appropriately considering the transformation rules between the laboratory and the (particle's) rest inertial reference frames.
The spreading of a one-dimensional wavepacket solution of Schrödinger’s equation is related to the diffraction of light, as can be verified by considering the three-dimensional spreading of a wavepacket for an arbitrary dispersion relation. This investigation uncovers a special property of Schrödinger’s equation for a free particle: A wavepacket with initial spherical symmetry will preserve this symmetry in all Galilean reference frames. This property leads to a derivation of de Broglie’s postulate that wave number is proportional to momentum (or velocity). The application to non-Gaussian wavepackets and to Fraunhoffer diffraction also is discussed.
In this paper we discuss some aspects of the theory of wave packets. We consider a popular noncovariant Gaussian model used in various applications and show that it predicts too slow a longitudinal dispersion rate for relativistic particles. We revise this approach by considering a covariant model of Gaussian wave packets, and examine our results by inspecting a wave packet of arbitrary form. A general formula for the time dependence of the dispersion of a wave packet of arbitrary form is found. Finally, we give a transparent interpretation of the disappearance of the wave function over time due to the dispersion—a feature often considered undesirable, but which is unavoidable for wave packets. We find, starting from simple examples, proceeding with their generalizations and finally by considering the continuity equation, that the integral over time of both the flux and probability densities are asymptotically proportional to the factor 1/| x | 2 in the rest frame of the wave packet, just as in the case of an ensemble of classical particles.
The physics of special relativity is applied to a wave-packet model of a particle without the usual de Broglie-like assumption of Planck's rule, E = hv. The velocity of the particle is equated to the group-velocity of the wave-packet to associate the particle with its wave-packet. With such an identification it is demonstrated using special relativity that the momentum four-vector, P = [p, E/c2] of the particle is parallel and proportional to a central wave-number four-vector, K0 = [k0. ω0/c2], of the particle's wave-packet. The constant of proportionality, relating these two four-vectors, has the dimension of action and by diffraction experiments it has the value h/2π where h is Planck's constant. This refinement of the de Broglie wave-like nature of a particle suggests that special relativity underlies quantum physics more deeply than heretofore believed. The above quantum rules are used to find the wave-packet function in the one-dimensional case of a non-relativistic free particle and a particle in a conservative force field of potential V (x). This wave-packet function is shown to satisfy an integral time-evolution equation which relates the wave function at time t0 to the function at a slightly later time t. The resulting integral equation is equivalent to the propagator equation or path-integral hypothesised by Feynman. This fact also demonstrates, using the method of Feynman, that the wave-packet function satisfies Schrödinger's partial differential equation. The wave-packet function of a particle in a force field is directly shown to satisfy a linear integral equation which relates the wave-packet at one instant of time to its values at all later times. The kernel or propagator of this integral equation is also equivalent to Feynman's path integral. A computation demonstrates that the position of a moving particle in a simple quadratic potential well does not become more uncertain with the passage of time. This contrasts with the behaviour of a moving free particle which as a function of time becomes more and more difficult to accurately locate.
The tomography of a single quantum particle (i.e., a quantum wave packet) in an accelerated frame is studied. We write the Schrödinger equation in a moving reference frame in which acceleration is uniform in space and an arbitrary function of time. Then, we reduce such a problem to the study of spatiotemporal evolution of the wave packet in an inertial frame in the presence of a homogeneous force field but with an arbitrary time dependence. We demonstrate the existence of a Gaussian wave packet solution, for which the position and momentum uncertainties are unaffected by the uniform force field. This implies that, similar to in the case of a force-free motion, the uncertainty product is unaffected by acceleration. In addition, according to the Ehrenfest theorem, the wave packet centroid moves according to classic Newton's law of a particle experiencing the effects of uniform acceleration. Furthermore, as in free motion, the wave packet exhibits a diffraction spread in the configuration space but not in momentum space. Then, using Radon transform, we determine the quantum tomogram of the Gaussian state evolution in the accelerated frame. Finally, we characterize the wave packet evolution in the accelerated frame in terms of optical and simplectic tomogram evolution in the related tomographic space.