Why must A2 be zero in Schaum's Quantum Mechanics?

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In summary, the conversation discusses the requirement for A2 to be zero in order to fulfill the boundary condition of having incoming particles only from the left. However, this may lead to a diverging wave function at x=+infinite. The speaker suggests that this condition may only apply when E<V, and explains that in the continuous part of the spectrum, the "eigenstates" are not Hilbert-space vectors but generalized eigenstates that belong to the dual of the nuclear space. The example of the momentum operator is given to illustrate this concept.
  • #1
atomqwerty
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Hello,
In http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2825/sinttulobdd.png" from Schaum's Quantum Mechanics, I don't get why they say that A2 (with ' ) must be zero; I think in that case [itex]\Phi_{II}(x)[/itex] will diverge if x=+infinite, and we don't want that function to diverge, do we?

Thanks!
 
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  • #2
With this step you simply fulfill the boundary condition that there should be incoming particles only from the left and not from the right.
 
  • #3
vanhees71 said:
With this step you simply fulfill the boundary condition that there should be incoming particles only from the left and not from the right.

Yes, but it you put the condition that when x->infinite, the wave function must be zero, the it doesn't match!
Maybe this condition that I say is just when E<V...
 
  • #4
If you are in the continuous part of the spectrum your "eigenstates" are not Hilbert-space vectors but generalized eigenstates. They belong to the dual of the nuclear space in the sense of the G'elfand triple (="rigged Hilbert space").

The most simple example are the "eigenstates" of the momentum operator. These are (in position representation) just the plane waves (here for simplicity written for the one-dimensional motion of a particle)

[tex]u_p(x)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2 \pi}} \exp(\mathrm{i} x p).[/tex]

This is not a square-integrable function. It can not be normalized to 1 in the usual sense but only to a [itex]\delta[/itex] distribution, according to

[tex]\langle p_1|p_2 \rangle = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \mathrm{d} x \; u_{p_1}^*(x) u_{p_2}(x)=\delta(p_1-p_2).[/tex]
 

FAQ: Why must A2 be zero in Schaum's Quantum Mechanics?

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