Examples of Quantum Mechanics

One-Dimensional Wave Packet Propagation

By Anurag Badetiya
196PH006
Roll no.
Course M.sc physics
ABSTRACT
The aim of this example is to study numerical integration of the Schrödinger equation,
propagation of wave packets, and scattering by and tunneling through a barrier. The initial
conditions of the wave packets studied are represented by a Gaussian distribution of plane waves
in an area in which V=0, i.e.

Ψ(x,t)=Cexp[−(x−xs)^2/σ^2]exp[i(k0x−ω0t)]

Here C is a normalization constant, xs=⟨x⟩ t=0 is the initial displacement of the Gaussian, σ is
the width of the Gaussian and Δx=σ), k0≡p0/ℏ is the wave number and ω0≡E/ℏ=ℏk^2/2m is the
wave's angular frequency. It can be shown that Ψ(x,t) for t>0 and V=0 in fact must be

Ψ(x,t)=Cσ/(√σ2+itℏ/m)(e^(i[k0x−ω0t]))*(exp{−(x−xs−k0ℏt/m)^2/2σ+2itℏ/m}.

The chosen representation is however a good approximation for the initial conditions, because
the method used in this notebook require the initial state of the real part and the imaginary part at
two different times, so we accept that this gives a small error.

Numerical stability
Since the Shrödinger equation is solved numerically, it is obvious that the solution only is an
approximation of the true solution. Therefore, it is important to choose Δt and Δx as small as
necessary to get the desired accuracy. However, it is also important to consider the relationship
between ΔtΔt and Δx. A poor choice of these parameters will not only decrease the accuracy, but
the error may increase exponentially for each iteration.