Quantum Mechanics 7 - The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:08080082,
            doi = {},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/08080082},
            author = {Epp, Richard},
            keywords = {},
            language = {en},
            title = {Quantum Mechanics 7 - The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2008},
            month = {aug},
            note = {PIRSA:08080082 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }
          

Abstract

Taking our intuitive understanding of the quantum world gained by studying a particle in a one-dimensional box, we generalize to understand a quantum harmonic oscillator.
Learning Outcomes:
• Introduction to the classical physics of a ball rolling back and forth in a bowl, a simple example of a very important type of bounded motion called a “harmonic oscillator.”
• The quantization of allowed energies of a harmonic oscillator: even spacing between energy levels, and zero point energy.
• Being able to sketch the allowed wavefunctions and particle probability patterns of a quantum harmonic oscillator, including a new phenomenon called “tunnelling.”