The 

Schrödinger equation is a linear partial differential equation that describes the wave

function or state function of a quantum-mechanical system.[1]:1–2 It is a key result in quantum
mechanics, and its discovery was a significant landmark in the development of the subject. The
equation is named after Erwin Schrödinger, who postulated the equation in 1925, and published
it in 1926, forming the basis for the work that resulted in his Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933.[2][3]
Conceptually, the Schrödinger equation is the quantum counterpart of Newton's second
law in classical mechanics. Given a set of known initial conditions, Newton's second law makes a
mathematical prediction as to what path a given physical system will take over time. The
Schrödinger equation gives the evolution over time of a wave function, the quantum-mechanical
characterization of an isolated physical system. The equation can be derived from the fact that
the time-evolution operator must be unitary, and must therefore be generated by the exponential
of a self-adjoint operator, which is the quantum Hamiltonian.
The Schrödinger equation is a linear partial differential equation that describes the wave
function or state function of a quantum-mechanical system.[1]:1–2 It is a key result in quantum
mechanics, and its discovery was a significant landmark in the development of the subject. The
equation is named after Erwin Schrödinger, who postulated the equation in 1925, and published
it in 1926, forming the basis for the work that resulted in his Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933.[2][3]
Conceptually, the Schrödinger equation is the quantum counterpart of Newton's second
law in classical mechanics. Given a set of known initial conditions, Newton's second law makes a
mathematical prediction as to what path a given physical system will take over time. The
Schrödinger equation gives the evolution over time of a wave function, the quantum-mechanical
characterization of an isolated physical system. The equation can be derived from the fact that
the time-evolution operator must be unitary, and must therefore be generated by the exponential
of a self-adjoint operator, which is the quantum Hamiltonian.
The Schrödinger equation is not the only way to study quantum mechanical systems and make
predictions. The other formulations of quantum mechanics include matrix mechanics, introduced
by Werner Heisenberg, and the path integral formulation, developed chiefly by Richard
Feynman. Paul Dirac incorporated matrix mechanics and the Schrödinger equation into a single
formulation. When these approaches are compared, the use of the Schrödinger equation is
sometimes called "wave mechanics".

Contents

 1Equation
o 1.1Time-dependent equation
o 1.2Time-independent equation
 2Derivation
 3Implications
o 3.1Energy
o 3.2Quantization
o 3.3Quantum tunneling
o 3.4Particles as waves
 4Interpretation of the wave function
 5Historical background and development
 6The wave equation for particles
o 6.1Consistency with energy conservation
o 6.2Linearity
o 6.3Consistency with the de Broglie relations
o 6.4Wave and particle motion
 7Nonrelativistic quantum mechanics
o 7.1Time-independent
 o 7.2One-dimensional examples
o 7.3Three-dimensional examples
o 7.4Time-dependent
 8Properties
o 8.1Linearity
o 8.2Momentum space Schrödinger equation
o 8.3Real energy eigenstates
o 8.4Space and time derivatives
o 8.5Local conservation of probability
o 8.6Positive energy
o 8.7Analytic continuation to diffusion
o 8.8Regularity
 9Relativistic quantum mechanics
 10Quantum field theory
 11First order form
 12See also
 13Notes
 14References
 15Further reading
 16External links

Equation[edit]
Time-dependent equation[edit]
The form of the Schrödinger equation depends on the physical situation (see below for special
cases). The most general form is the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE), which gives
a description of a system evolving with time:[4]:143

A wave function that satisfies the nonrelativistic Schrödinger equation with V = 0. In other words, this
corresponds to a particle traveling freely through empty space. The real part of the wave function is plotted
here.

Time-dependent Schrödinger equation (general)

where  is the imaginary unit,  is the reduced Planck constant having the dimension of action,[5][6][note
1]
  (the Greek letter psi) is the state vector of the quantum system,  is time, and  is
the Hamiltonian operator. The position-space wave function of the quantum system is nothing but
the components in the expansion of the state vector in terms of the position eigenvector . It is a
scalar function, expressed as . Similarly, the momentum-space wave function can be defined as ,
where 

Contents

 1Equation
 o 1.1Time-dependent equation
o 1.2Time-independent equation
 2Derivation
 3Implications
o 3.1Energy
o 3.2Quantization
o 3.3Quantum tunneling
o 3.4Particles as waves
 4Interpretation of the wave function
 5Historical background and development
 6The wave equation for particles
o 6.1Consistency with energy conservation
o 6.2Linearity
o 6.3Consistency with the de Broglie relations
o 6.4Wave and particle motion
 7Nonrelativistic quantum mechanics
o 7.1Time-independent
o 7.2One-dimensional examples
o 7.3Three-dimensional examples
o 7.4Time-dependent
 8Properties
o 8.1Linearity
o 8.2Momentum space Schrödinger equation
o 8.3Real energy eigenstates
o 8.4Space and time derivatives
o 8.5Local conservation of probability
o 8.6Positive energy
o 8.7Analytic continuation to diffusion
o 8.8Regularity
 9Relativistic quantum mechanics
 10Quantum field theory
 11First order form
 12See also
 13Notes
 14References
 15Further reading
 16External links

Equation[edit]
Time-dependent equation[edit]
The form of the Schrödinger equation depends on the physical situation (see below for special
cases). The most general form is the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE), which gives
a description of a system evolving with time:[4]:143
A wave function that satisfies the nonrelativistic Schrödinger equation with V = 0. In other words, this
corresponds to a particle traveling freely through empty space. The real part of the wave function is plotted
here.

Time-dependent Schrödinger equation (general)

where  is the imaginary unit,  is the reduced Planck constant having the dimension of action,[5][6][note
1]
  (the Greek letter psi) is the state vector of the quantum system,  is time, and  is
the Hamiltonian operator. The position-space wave function of the quantum system is nothing but
the components in the expansion of the state vector in terms of the position eigenvector . It is a
scalar function, expressed as . Similarly, the momentum-space wave function can be defined as ,
where