A Spreadsheet Template for Quantum Mechanical Wavepacket Propagation

• David K. Hoffman ^[1] ; John C. Hansen ^[3] ; Donald J. Kouri ^[2]
  1. [1] Iowa State University

     Iowa State University

     Township of Franklin, Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] University of Houston

     University of Houston

     Estados Unidos

     
  3. [3] Chemistry Department, Southwest State University

  Mostrar afiliaciones +
• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 74, Nº 3 (March), 1997, págs. 335-342
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • A spreadsheet template has been developed which can propagate a one-dimensional quantum mechanical wave function through a specified time-step. Repeated propagation results in a sequence of graphs which can be interpreted as "frames" of a movie. The wave function is represented by a set of its values on an evenly spaced grid. The initial state and the potential energy function may be set by the user. The spreadsheet calculation uses a recently developed method based upon distributed approximating functionals (DAFs). Although the template has been prepared on Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, the method should be readily portable to any commonly-used spreadsheet program. The template is used to demonstrate wavepacket motion in a harmonic potential. Subsequent publications will focus on using the methodology to demonstrate other important quantum phenomena in an educational setting.