Lets say we have a potential step as in the picture:
In the region I there is a free particle with a wavefunction ψI while in the region II the wave function will be ψII.
Let me take now the schrödinger equation and try to derive ψI:
Wψ=−ℏ22md2Ψdx2+Wpψ Wψ=−ℏ22md2Ψdx2d2Ψdx2=−2mWℏ2ψDE: d2Ψdx2=−Lψ L≡√2mWℏ2 \line(1,0)18.3⇓general solution of DE: ψI=Csin(Lx)+Dcos(Lx)
I got the general solution for the interval I, but this is nothing like the solution they use in all the books: ψI=CeiLx+De−iLx where L≡√2mW/ℏ2. I have a personal issue with this because if x=−∞ part De−iLx would become infinite and this is impossible for a wavefunction! I know that i would get exponential form if i defined constant L a bit differently as i did above:
DE: d2Ψdx2=Lψ L≡−√2mWℏ2 \line(1,0)18.3⇓general solution of DE: ψI=CeLx+D−Lx
This general solution looks more like the one they use in the books but it lacks an imaginary i and L is defined with a - while in all the books it is positive. Could anyone tell me what am i missing here so i could understand this?
No comments:
Post a Comment