Applied Quantum Mechanics
Chapter 2 problems
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Applied quantum mechanics 1
Problem 2.1
(a) The Sun has a surface temperature of 5800 K and an average radius 6.96 × 108 m. Assuming the
mean Sun-Mars distance is 2.28 × 1011 m, what is the total radiative power per unit area incident on
the upper Mars atmosphere facing the Sun?
(b) If the surface temperature of the Sun was 6800 K, by how much would the total radiative
power per unit area incident on Mars increase?
Problem 2.2
(a) If a photon of energy 2 eV is reflected from a metal mirror, how much momentum is exchanged?
Why can the reflection not be modeled as a collision of the photon with a single electron in the
metal?
(b) A positron has charge +e and the same mass m0 as a bare electron. The energy of a particle
with rest mass m0 moving at velocity υ with momentum p = γm 0 υ is E = γm0c2 where c is the
2 2 2 2
speed of light and γ = c ⁄ ( c – υ ) . Why can a single high energy photon not decay into an
electron and a positron?
(c) Describe the conditions in which two colliding photons decay into a positron and an elec-
tron.
Problem 2.3
Consider a lithium atom (Li) with two electrons missing.
(a) Draw an energy level diagram for the Li++ ion.
(b) Derive the expression for the energy (in eV) and wavelength (in nm) of emitted light from
transitions between energy levels.
(c) Calculate the three longest wavelengths (in nm) for transitions terminating at n = 2 .
(d) If the lithium ion were embedded in a dielectric with relative permittivity εr = 10, what
would be the expression for the energy (in eV) and wavelength (in nm) of emitted light from transi-
tions between energy levels.
Problem 2.4
A particle mass m moving in a real potential is described by wave function ψ ( x, t ) .
(a) Write down the expression for the average value of the particle position 〈 x̂〉 and then make
use of the Schrödinger equation to show that the average value of momentum is
∞ *
d i= ∂ * ∂ψ ∂ψ
〈 p̂〉 = m 〈 x̂〉 = ----- ∫ x ψ – ψ dx
dt 2 ∂x ∂x ∂x
–∞
(b) Evaluate the integral in part (a) and show that
∞
∂
∫ ψ –i= ∂ x ψ dx
*
〈 p̂〉 =
–∞
so that one may identify the momentum operator as
∂
p̂ = – i=
∂x
2
Problem 2.5
A simple model of a heterostructure diode predicts that current increases exponentially with
increasing forward voltage bias. Under what conditions will this predicted behavior fail?
Problem 2.6
Write down the Hamiltonian operator for (a) a one-dimensional simple harmonic oscillator, (b) a
helium atom, (c) a hydrogen molecule, (d) a molecule with nn nuclei and ne electrons.
Problem 2.7
Calculate the classical velocity of the electron in the n-th orbit of a Li++ ion. If this electron is
described as a wave packet and its position is known to an accuracy of ∆x = 1 pm, calculate the
characteristic time ∆τ∆x for the width of the wave packet to double. Compare ∆τ∆x with the time to
complete one classical orbit.
Problem 2.8
What is the Bohr radius for an electron with effective electron mass m* = 0.021 × m 0 in a medium
with low-frequency relative permittivity ε r0 = 14.55 corresponding to the conduction band prop-
erties of single crystal InAs?
Problem 2.9
Because electromagnetic radiation possesses momentum it can exert a force. If completely
absorbed by matter, the absorbed electromagnetic radiation energy per unit time per unit area is a
pressure called radiation pressure.
(a) If the maximum radiative power per unit area incident on the upper Earth atmosphere facing
the Sun is 5.5 kW m-2, what is the corresponding radiation pressure?
(b) Estimate the photon flux needed to create the pressure in (a).
(c) Compare the result in (a) with the pressure due to one atmosphere.
Problem 2.10
(a) In the absence of a single photon source, optical quantum key distribution (QKD) uses light
from an attenuated laser. In a particular system the mean photon number per pulse is 0.1 and the
probability of single photon emission is 0.09. The link operates with a clock rate of 1.25 GHz (bit
time τ = 800 ps), optical loss in the link is -10 dB, and time jitter in the photodetector requires that
only every second time interval be used for photon detection. What is the maximum sustained data
rate for guaranteed secure QKD in the system?
(b) No light can pass between two linear polarizers if their respective polarizations are oriented
at 90o to each other. If a third linear polarizer oriented at a 45o angle is placed between the two lin-
ear polarizers, what is the maximum fraction of incident light intensity that can pass through the
system?
Problem 2.11
A particle mass m moving in a real potential is described by wave function ψ ( x, t ) and
Schrödinger’s equation. Show that
Applied quantum mechanics 3
∞
d 2
dt ∫
ψ ( x, t ) dx = 0
–∞
so that if the wave function ψ ( x, t ) is normalized it remains so for all time.
