Applied Quantum Mechanics

Dr Uzma Khalique
 Books Followed
• Recommended Text:
• A.F.J Levi, Applied Quantum Mechanics, 2nd Edition,
Cambridge University Press, 2006.

• Recommended Reference(s):
• A.C. Phillips, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

• R. L. Libof, Introductory Quantum Mechanics, 2nd Edition,

Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Inc., Massachusetts
(1993).
• Griffths (Numericals)
 Marks Assessment Scheme
• Final Exam 50%
• 1st Sessional Exam 10%
• 2nd Sessional Exam 15%
• Quizzes 15%
• Assignments 10%
– Class performance
 Class performance
Participation
• Punctuality
– submission of assignments
– class timings
 Others
• Available timings
– students ………….. ??
– teacher: Tuesdays 15:00-17:00
office G13, Faculty block I

• Assignments deadline: Wednesdays

• Quizzes can be unannounced
• Photocopy your assignment/Quiz
Where Quantum Mechanics stand!!
Classical vs Quantum Mechanics
Classical world is Quantum world is
Deterministic Probabilistic

Knowing the position Impossible to know

and velocity of all position and velocity
objects at a particular with certainty at a
time given time

Future can be Only probability of

predicted using known future state can be
laws of force and predicted using known
Newton’s laws of laws of force and
motion equations of quantum
mechanics
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Inadequacies of classical theory
• Region of atomic dimension
• Stability of atoms
• Spectrum of black body radiation
• Observed variation of specific heat of metals and
gases
• Discrete spectrum of atoms
• Observed phenomena:
Photoelectric effect,
Compton effect,
Raman effect etc.
 Rutherford Nuclear Atom
• Ernest Rutherford used alpha rays to discover
the nucleus of the atom. The nucleus was
positively charged and contained almost all of
the mass of the atom. Most of the atom was
empty space.

Classical physics required that this atom is

unstable, electrons would fall into the
nucleus in 10-7 sec!
Classical view
Quantum Mechanical view
Quantum Mechanical view
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Interference and Diffraction
Intensity Maxima and Minima
Example
 Example

The coherence length gives the spatial scale over which interference from the
linear superposition of fields can be observed. For lengths much greater than the
coherence length, the phases of different wavelength components can no longer
add to create either a maximum or minimum, and all interference effects are
effectively washed out.
 Black body radiation
Gustav Kirchhoff (1860). The light emitted by a black body is called black-body radiation

At room temperature, black bodies

emit IR light, but as the
temperature increases past a few
hundred degrees Celsius, black
bodies start to emit at visible
wavelengths, from red, through
orange, yellow, and white before
ending up at blue, beyond which
the emission includes increasing
amounts of UV
Black Body Radiation
Photoelectric Effect
Photoelectric Effect
 Particle Nature of Electron
• electron kinetic energy is related to momentum and
quantized momentum is related to wavelength, we can
estimate the wavelength λe an electron with mass m0 and
energy E in free space is

λe = 2πћ/√2m0E,

• for an electron with E = 1 eV gives a quite small wavelength

λe = 1.226 nm
 Particle Nature of Electron and
Photon

Fig. 2.6. The momentum and energy exchange between a photon and an electron
may be described in a scattering diagram in which time flows from left to right. The
electron has initial wave vector kelectron and scattered wave vector kelectron. The
quantized momentum carried by the photon is kphoton.
 Diffraction and Interference of
Electrons

An almost mono energetic beam of electrons of kinetic energy E = p2/2m0 incident on

a crystal of nickel gave rise to Bragg scattering peaks for electrons emerging from the
metal. The observation of intensity maxima for electrons emerging from the crystal
showed that electrons behave as waves. The electron waves exhibited the key
features of diffraction, linear superposition, and interference.
 Particle Wave nature
Mass Wavelength For E=100 eV

Photon 0 124 nm

Electron m0 0.1226 nm
=9.1X10-31kg

Neutron mn 0.00286 nm
=1.6X10-27kg
 Quantum Mechanics
Wave function

Probability Density
Schrodinger Equation

Schrodinger Equation
Time Independent and Dependent
Schrodinger Equations

Time Dependent
Schrodinger Equation

Time Independent
Schrodinger Equation