Abstract
We derive a useful expression for the time-development operator for quantum wave functions, exp(-iĤt/ℏ), for the case of a particle subject to a constant force. We apply it, in both position and momentum space, to construct wave packets that exhibit uniform acceleration. We use these results to generate quantum wave packets corresponding to the motion of a charged particle in a uniform electric field in two different gauges, explicitly demonstrating the change in phase of the wave function under a gauge transformation. The more standard description of the time dependence of accelerating wave packets using the formalism of propagators is briefly reviewed in an Appendix for comparison.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 803-808 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | American Journal of Physics |
Volume | 64 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1996 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Physics and Astronomy(all)