Asg 1 1

PHYS 334
Assignment 1
Due: Tuesday, May 19, 2014, in class.
1. Back-of-the-envelope calculation:
Based on the uncertainty principle, estimate the amplitude of oscillation of a harmonic oscillator
of mass m under the potential V (x) =
1
2
m
2
x
2
, and its ground state energy.
2. Fourier integral theorem:
According to the theory of Fourier series, a smooth function f(x) dened over
L
2
x
L
2
can be expanded as
f(x) =

n=
c
n
e
i
2n
L
x
, n integers . (1)
(You will learn about Fourier series in more detail in PHYS 364.)
(a) Show that
c
n
=
1
L
L
2

L
2
dx

e
i
2n
L
x

f(x

). (2)
(Hint: multiply both side of eq.(1) by e
i
2n

L
x
and integrate.)
(b) Let k
n
=
2n
L
. Show that the change in k
n
when n increases by 1 is k
n
=
2
L
. By
substituting eq.(2) into eq.(1), show that in the limit L ,
f(x) =
1

F(k) e
ikx
dk (3)
where
F(k) =
1

f(x) e
ikx
dx. (4)
3. Griths p.67, Problem 2.21.