Consider the following statement associated with quantum mechanical Si...
The energy of a linear harmonic oscillator is given as
Where n = quantum number
v = frequency
⇒ E increases with quantum number n
Energy corresponding to n = 0 is
(non - zero)
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Consider the following statement associated with quantum mechanical Si...
The Quantum Mechanical Simple Harmonic Oscillator
The quantum mechanical simple harmonic oscillator is a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics that describes the behavior of a particle in a harmonic potential. The potential energy function for a simple harmonic oscillator is given by:
V(x) = (1/2)kx^2
where k is the spring constant and x is the displacement from the equilibrium position. The Hamiltonian operator is used to describe the energy of the system, and the eigenvalue equation for the quantum mechanical simple harmonic oscillator is given by:
Hψ(x) = Eψ(x)
where H is the Hamiltonian operator, ψ(x) is the wavefunction, E is the energy eigenvalue, and x is the position of the particle.
Statement Analysis:
a) Spacing between energy levels increases with increasing quantum number.
d) Lowest energy level has a non-zero value.
Explanation:
The energy levels of the quantum mechanical simple harmonic oscillator are quantized, meaning that they can only take on certain discrete values. The energy eigenvalues are given by:
E_n = (n + 1/2)ħω
where n is the quantum number, ħ is the reduced Planck's constant, and ω is the angular frequency of the oscillator. From this equation, we can deduce the following:
1. The energy levels are evenly spaced, with a constant spacing of ħω. This means that the difference in energy between adjacent levels is the same for all levels.
2. The energy levels increase with increasing quantum number. As the quantum number n increases, the energy eigenvalue E_n increases. This can be seen from the equation, where the term (n + 1/2) increases with n.
3. The lowest energy level, corresponding to n = 0, has a non-zero value. From the equation, we can see that when n = 0, the energy eigenvalue is (1/2)ħω, which is non-zero.
Conclusion:
Based on the above analysis, we can conclude that the correct statements are:
a) Spacing between energy levels increases with increasing quantum number.
d) Lowest energy level has a non-zero value.