Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach with Modern Physics (3rd Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0321740904
ISBN 13: 978-0-32174-090-8

Chapter 39 - Wave Functions and Uncertainty - Exercises and Problems - Page 1177: 38

Answer

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Work Step by Step

We are given that $$\psi(x) = \begin{cases} c e^{x/2} & \text{for} \, x \leq 0{\;\rm mm} \\ c e^{-x/2} & \text{for} \, x \geq 0{\;\rm mm} \end{cases} $$ $$\color{blue}{\bf [a,b,d]}$$ To the wave function and the probability density as functions of $x$, we need to find $c$ first. We know that $$ \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} |\psi(x)|^2 \; dx = 1 $$ Plugging from the first formula above. $$ \int_{-\infty}^{0} |c e^{x/2}|^2 \; dx + \int_{0}^{\infty} |c e^{-x/2}|^2 \; dx = 1 $$ Thus, $$ \int_{-\infty}^{0} c^2 e^{x} \; dx + \int_{0}^{\infty} c^2 e^{-x} \; dx = 1 $$ $$c^2 \left[ e^{x} \right]_{-\infty}^{0} + c^2 \left[ - e^{-x} \right]_{0}^{\infty} = 1 $$ $$c^2 + c^2 = 1 $$ $$ c^2 = \dfrac{1}{2} $$ $$ \boxed{c = \color{red}{\bf \dfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\;\rm }$$ The two graphs are shown below. $$\color{blue}{\bf [c]}$$ We know that $$\text{Prob}(-1.0 \; \text{mm} \leq x \leq 1.0 \; \text{mm}) = \int_{-1.0 \; \text{mm}}^{1.0 \; \text{mm}} |\psi(x)|^2 dx $$ We can see that the probability density is symmetric around $x=0$, so $$ \text{Prob}(-1.0 \; \text{mm} \leq x \leq 1.0 \; \text{mm}) = 2 \int_0^{1.0 } c^2 e^{-x } dx $$ $$\text{Prob}(-1.0 \; \text{mm} \leq x \leq 1.0 ) = -2c^2 \left[ e^{-2x/L} \right]_0^{1.0 } $$ $$\text{Prob}(-1.0 \; \text{mm} \leq x \leq 1.0 ) = -2c^2 \left( e^{-1} - 1 \right) $$ $$\text{Prob}(-1.0 \; \text{mm} \leq x \leq 1.0 ) = -2\left[\dfrac{1}{\sqrt2}\right]^2 \left( e^{-1} - 1 \right) $$ $$\text{Prob}(-1.0 \; \text{mm} \leq x \leq 1.0 ) = 0.632=\color{red}{\bf 63.2\%}$$
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