Paper 4, Section I, B

Quantum Mechanics | Part IB, 2017

(a) Give a physical interpretation of the wavefunction ϕ(x,t)=AeikxeiEt/\phi(x, t)=A e^{i k x} e^{-i E t / \hbar} (where A,kA, k and EE are real constants).

(b) A particle of mass mm and energy E>0E>0 is incident from the left on the potential step

V(x)={0 for <x<aV0 for a<x<V(x)=\left\{\begin{array}{cl} 0 & \text { for }-\infty<x<a \\ V_{0} & \text { for } a<x<\infty \end{array}\right.

with V0>0V_{0}>0.

State the conditions satisfied by a stationary state at the point x=ax=a.

Compute the probability that the particle is reflected as a function of EE, and compare your result with the classical case.

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