In: Physics
In the harmonic oscillator problem, the normalized wave
functions for the ground and first excited states are ψ0
and ψ1. Using these functions, at some point t, a wave
function u = Aψ0 + Bψ1 is constructed, where
A and B are real numbers.
(a) Show that the average value of x in the u state is generally
non-zero.
(b) What condition A and B must satisfy if we want the function u to be normalized?
(c) For which values of the constants A and B do we get the maximum and for which minimum of <x>?
The result:
(b) A2 + B2 = 1
(c) Maximum: A = B = 2−1/2