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 1178: 49

Answer

${\bf 50\%}$

Work Step by Step

The given wave function is: $$ \psi(x) = \sqrt{\frac{b}{\pi(x^2 + b^2)}} $$ where $ b $ is a positive constant. We are asked to find the probability that the particle is located in the interval $ -b \leq x \leq b $. The probability $ P $ that the particle is located in this interval is given by the integral of $ |\psi(x)|^2 $ over the range from $ -b $ to $ b $. Now we need to find if the wave function is normalized or not, $$\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} |\psi(x)|^2 dx = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \frac{b}{\pi(x^2 + b^2)} dx$$ $$\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} |\psi(x)|^2 dx = \frac{b}{\pi} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \frac{1}{x^2 + b^2} dx = \frac{b}{\pi} \left[ \frac{1}{b} \tan^{-1} \frac{x}{b} \right]_{-\infty}^{\infty}$$ $$\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} |\psi(x)|^2 dx = \frac{1}{\pi} \left[ \frac{\pi}{2} - \left( -\frac{\pi}{2} \right) \right] = 1 $$ Now, we can proceed with integrating $ |\psi(x)|^2 $ over the interval $ -b \leq x \leq b $. $$ \text{Prob}( -b \leq x\leq b) = \int_{-b}^{b} |\psi(x)|^2 \; dx\tag 1 $$ where $ |\psi(x)|^2 = \left( \sqrt{\dfrac{b}{\pi(x^2 + b^2)}} \right)^2 = \dfrac{b}{\pi(x^2 + b^2)}$ Plug into (1); $$ \text{Prob}( -b \leq x\leq b) = \int_{-b}^{b} \dfrac{b}{\pi(x^2 + b^2)}\; dx $$ $$ \text{Prob}( -b \leq x\leq b) = \frac{1}{\pi} \tan^{-1}\left(\frac{x}{b}\right)\bigg|_{-b}^{b} $$ $$ \text{Prob}( -b \leq x\leq b) = \frac{1}{\pi} \left[ \tan^{-1}\left( \frac{b}{b} \right) - \tan^{-1}\left( \frac{-b}{b} \right) \right] $$ $$ \text{Prob}( -b \leq x\leq b) = \frac{1}{\pi} \left[ \tan^{-1}(1) - \tan^{-1}(-1) \right] $$ Recalling the fact that $ \tan^{-1}(1) = \dfrac{\pi}{4} $ and $ \tan^{-1}(-1) = -\dfrac{\pi}{4} $. $$ \text{Prob}( -b \leq x\leq b) = \frac{1}{\pi} \left( \frac{\pi}{4} - \left( -\frac{\pi}{4} \right) \right) = \frac{1}{\pi} \times \frac{\pi}{2}$$ $$ \text{Prob}( -b \leq x\leq b)= \frac{1}{2} =\color{red}{\bf 50\%}$$
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