In this unit, you will explore the quantum mechanics of a simple system: a particle confined to a one-dimensional ring.
Motivating Questions
- What are the energy eigenstates, i.e. eigenstates of the Hamiltonian?
- What physical properties of the energy eigenstates can be measured?
- What other states are possible and what are their physical properties?
- How do the states change if this system and their physical properties depend on time?
Key Activities/Problems
- Activity: Working with Representations on the Ring
- Problem: Ring Table
- Activity: Visualization of Quantum Probabilities for a Particle Confined to a Ring
- Activity: Time Dependence for a Quantum Particle on a Ring
Unit Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
- Describe the energy eigenstates for the ring system algebraically and graphically.
- List the physical measurables for the system and give expressions for the corresponding operators in bra/ket, matrix, and position representations.
- Give the possible quantum numbers for the quantum ring system and describe any degeneracies.
- For a given state, use the inner product in bra/ket, matrix, and position representations, to find the probability of making any physically relevant measurement, including states with degeneracy.
- Use an expansion in energy eigenstates to find the time dependence of a given state.
Equation Sheet for This Unit