Paper 3, Section I, A

Quantum Mechanics | Part IB, 2014

The wavefunction of a normalised Gaussian wavepacket for a particle of mass mm in one dimension with potential V(x)=0V(x)=0 is given by

ψ(x,t)=BA(t)exp(x2A(t)2)\psi(x, t)=B \sqrt{A(t)} \exp \left(\frac{-x^{2} A(t)}{2}\right)

where A(0)=1A(0)=1. Given that ψ(x,t)\psi(x, t) is a solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, find the complex-valued function A(t)A(t) and the real constant BB.

[You may assume that eλx2dx=π/λ.\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^{-\lambda x^{2}} d x=\sqrt{\pi} / \sqrt{\lambda} . ]

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