De Broglie Particle-Wave Duality

By Mark Blasini

Louis de Broglie
Louis, 7th duc de Broglie was born on August 15, 1892, in Dieppe, France.
He was the son of Victor, 5th duc de Broglie. Although he originally wanted a career as a humanist (and even received his first degree in history), he later turned his attention to physics and mathematics. During the First World War, he helped the French army with radio communications.

In 1924, after deciding a career in physics and mathematics, he wrote his

doctoral thesis entitled Research on the Quantum Theory. In this very seminal work he explains his hypothesis about electrons: that electrons, like photons, can act like a particle and a wave. With this new discovery, he introduced a new field of study in the new science of quantum physics: Wave Mechanics!

Fundamentals of Wave Mechanics

First a little basics about waves. Waves are disturbances through a
medium (air, water, empty vacuum), that usually transfer energy.

Here is one:

Fundamentals of Wave Mechanics (Contd.)

The distance between each bump is called a wavelength (), and
how many bumps there are per second is called the frequency (f). The velocity at which the wave crest moves is jointly proportional to and f: V=f Now there are two velocities associated with the wave: the group velocity (v) and the phase velocity (V).

When dealing with waves going in oscillations (cycles of periodic movements), we use notations of angular frequency () and the wavenumber (k) which is inversely proportional to the wavelength. The equations for both are: = 2f and k = 2/

Fundamentals (Contd)
The phase velocity of the wave (V) is directly proportional to the angular
frequency, but inversely proportional to the wavenumber, or:

V=/k
The phase velocity is the velocity of the oscillation (phase) of the wave.

The group velocity is equal to the derivative of the angular frequency with
respect to the wavenumber, or:

v=d/dk
The group velocity is the velocity at which the energy of the wave propagates. Since the group velocity is the derivative of the phase velocity, it is often the case that the phase velocity will be greater than the group velocity. Indeed, for any waves that are not electromagnetic, the phase velocity will be greater than c or the speed of light, 3.0 * 108 m/s.

Derivation for De Broglie Equation

De Broglie, in his research, decided to look at Einsteins research on
photons or particles of light and how it was possible for light to be considered both a wave and a particle. Let us look at how there is a relationship between them. We get from Einstein (and Planck) two equations for energy:

E = h f (photoelectric effect) & E = mc2 (Einsteins Special Relativity)

Now let us join the two equations:

E = h f = m c2

Derivation (Contd.)
From there we get: h f = p c (where p = mc, for the momentum of a photon)

h/p=c/f
Substituting what we know for wavelengths ( = v / f, or in this case c / f ):

h / mc =
De Broglie saw that this works perfectly for light waves, but does it work for particles other than photons, also?

Derivation (Contd.)
In order to explain his hypothesis, he would have to associate two
wave velocities with the particle. De Broglie hypothesized that the particle itself was not a wave, but always had with it a pilot wave, or a wave that helps guide the particle through space and time. This wave always accompanies the particle. He postulated that the group velocity of the wave was equal to the actual velocity of the particle.

However, the phase velocity would be very much different. He saw

that the phase velocity was equal to the angular frequency divided by the wavenumber. Since he was trying to find a velocity that fit for all particles (not just photons) he associated the phase velocity with that velocity. He equated these two equations: V = / k = E / p (from his earlier equation c = (h f) / p )

Derivation (Contd)
From this new equation from the phase velocity we can derive:

V = m c2 / m v = c2 / v
Applied to Einsteins energy equation, we have:

E = p V = m v (c2 / v)
This is extremely helpful because if we look at a photon traveling at the velocity c:

V = c2 / c = c
The phase velocity is equal to the group velocity! This allows for the equation to be applied to particles, as well as photons.

Derivation (Contd)
Now we can get to an actual derivation of the De Broglie equation:
p=E/V p = (h f) / V p=h/
With a little algebra, we can switch this to:

=h/mv
This is the equation De Broglie discovered in his 1924 doctoral thesis! It accounts for both waves and particles, mentioning the momentum (particle aspect) and the wavelength (wave aspect). This simple equation proves to be one of the most useful, and famous, equations in quantum mechanics!

De Broglie and Bohr

De Broglies equation brought relief to many people, especially Niels Bohr.
Niels Bohr had postulated in his quantum theory that the angular momentum of an electron in orbit around the nucleus of the atom is equal to an integer multiplied with h / 2, or:

n h / 2 = m v r
We get the equation now for standing waves:

n = 2 r
Using De Broglies equation, we get:

n h / m v = 2 r
This is exactly in relation to Niels Bohrs postulate!

De Broglie and Relativity

Not only is De Broglies equation useful for small particles, such as
electrons and protons, but can also be applied to larger particles, such as our everyday objects. Let us try using De Broglies equation in relation to Einsteins equations for relativity. Einstein proposed this about Energy: E = M c2 where M = m / (1 v2 / c2) and m is rest mass. Using what we have with De Broglie:

E = p V = (h V) /
Another note, we know that mass changes as the velocity of the object goes faster, so:

p = (M v)
Substituting with the other wave equations, we can see:

p = m v / (1 v / V) = m v / (1 k x / t )
One can see how wave mechanics can be applied to even Einsteins theory of relativity. It is much bigger than we all can imagine!

Conclusion
We can see very clearly how helpful De Broglies equation has been to
physics. His research on the wave-particle duality is one of the biggest paradigms in quantum mechanics, and even physics itself. In 1929 Louis, 7th duc de Broglie received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the wave nature of electrons. It was a very special moment in history, and for Louis de Broglie himself.

He died in 1987, in Paris, France, having never been married. Let us pay
him tribute as CW Oseen, the Chairman for the Nobel Committee for Physics, did when he said about de Broglie: You have covered in fresh glory a name already crowned for centuries with honour. (On the next two slides contains an appendix on the relation between wave mechanics and relativity, if it could be of any help to anyone.)

Appendix: Wave Mechanics and Relativity

We get from Einstein these equations from his Special Theory of Relativity: t = T / (1 - v2 / c2) , L = l (1 - v2 / c2) , M = m / (1 - v2 / c2) I pointed out earlier that c2 / v2 can be replaced with t / k x. One can see the relationship then that wave mechanics would have on all particles, and vice versa. Of course, in the case of time, you could replace the k x / t with k v / .

Similarly, it is careful to observe this relativity being applied to wave mechanics. We have, using Einsteins equation for Energy, two equations satisfying Energy: E = h F = M c2. Since mass M (which shall be used as m for intent purposes on the early slides where I derive De Broglies equation) undergoes relativistic changes, so does the frequency F (which shall be used as f for earlier slides due to the same reasoning): E = h f / (1 - v2 / c2) , which gives us the final equation for Energy: E = h f / (1 - k x / t ) .

Appendix (Contd)

With this in mind, it is also worthy to take in mind dealing with supra-relativity (my own coined term for events that occur with objects traveling faster than the speed of light). It would be interesting to note that the phase velocity is usually greater than the speed of light. Although no superluminal communication or energy transfer occurs under such a velocity, it would be interesting to see what mechanics could arise from just such a situation.

A person traveling on the phase wave is traveling at velocity V. His position would then be X. Using classical laws: X=Vt We see when we analyze t / k x that we can fiddle with the math: kx/t= x/Vt=X/x Thus, Einsteins equations refined: t = T / (1 - x / X ) , L = l (1 - x / X ) , M = m / (1 - x / X )

Essentially, if we imagined a particle (or a miniature man) traveling on the phase wave, we could measure his conditions under the particles velocity. Take it as you will.