An Exact Solution to the Time-dependent Schrodinger Equation for a Model One-dimensional Potential

Petridis, Athanasios N.; Staunton, Lawrence P.; Vermedahl, Jon; Luban, Marshall

An Exact Solution to the Time-dependent Schrodinger Equation for a Model One-dimensional Potential

Authors

Petridis, Athanasios N.

Staunton, Lawrence P.

Vermedahl, Jon

Luban, Marshall

Description

Analytical solutions to the time-dependent Shrödinger equation in one dimension are developed for time-independent potentials, one consisting of an infinite wall and a repulsive delta function. An exact solution is obtained by means of a convolution of time-independent solutions spanning the given Hilbert space with appropriately chosen spectral functions. Square-integrability and the boundary conditions are satisfied. The probability for the particle to be found inside the potential well is calculated and shown to exhibit non-exponential decay decreasing at large times as $t^{-3}$. The result is generalized for all square-integrable solutions to this problem.
12 pages, including 4 figures