Sunday, 24 May 2015

quantum mechanics - Energies and numbers of bound states in finite potential well


Hello I understand how to approach finite potential well (I learned a lot in my other topic here). However i am disturbed by equation which describes number of states $N$ for a finite potential well ( $d$ is a width of a well and $W_p$ is potential ):


$$ N \approx \dfrac{\sqrt{2m W_p}d}{\hbar \pi} $$


I am sure it has something to do with one of the constants $\mathcal L$ or $\mathcal K$ defined this way:


\begin{align} \mathcal L &\equiv \sqrt{\tfrac{2mW}{\hbar^2}} & \mathcal{K}&\equiv \sqrt{ \tfrac{ 2m(W_p-W) }{ \hbar^2 }} \end{align}


and the transcendental equations for ODD and EVEN solutions:


\begin{align} &\frac{\mathcal K}{\mathcal L} = \tan \left(\mathcal L \tfrac{d}{2}\right) &&-\frac{\mathcal L}{\mathcal K} = \tan \left(\mathcal L \tfrac{d}{2}\right)\\ &\scriptsize{\text{transc. eq. - EVEN}} &&\scriptsize{\text{transc. eq. - ODD}} \end{align}


QUESTION: Could anyone tell me where does 1st equation come from?




Answer



Inside the well, the wave functions of a bound state behave approximately like $\sin(kx)$ i.e. standing waves where $k=\pi M/d$ for an integer $M$. This contributes the kinetic energy $\hbar^2 k^2/ 2m$. The highest-lying bound states are those for which the energy left to the particle is $0-$, a small negative number, outside the well.


So the kinetic energy inside the well must be approximately equal to the height of the well $W_p$: $$ W_p = \frac{\hbar^2 k^2}{2m} $$ This implies $$ k = \frac{\sqrt{2mW_p}}{\hbar}$$ for the maximum allowed $k$ but I have mentioned that the spacing between the eigenstates in the $k$ space is $\pi/d$. So one has to divide the maximum $k$ above by $\pi/d$ to get the formula for $N$ you asked about.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Understanding Stagnation point in pitot fluid

What is stagnation point in fluid mechanics. At the open end of the pitot tube the velocity of the fluid becomes zero.But that should result...