The WKB Method: Solved Problems

1. The WKB approximation for the transmission probability through a finite square barrier.
Since we know the exact result for the transmission probability through a square barrier, we can
compare the WKB approximation with the exact result. The square barrier is also a good choice
because it is fairly easy to calculate the integral required to obtain the WKB approximation.
Of course, the most interesting cases for the WKB approximation are the cases where we cannot
calculate the exact analytic transmission probability. By studying the square potential barrier, you
should also obtain some valuable insight into the conditions that make the WKB approximation
work well—i.e., you should understand when the WKB method is a good approximation, and why!

(a) Calculate the WKB exponential transmission coefficient γ where

Z 2a
γ = (1/h̄) | p(x) | dx.
0

(b) Then calculate the WKB transmission probability Twkb = e−2γ .

(c) The WKB approximation works well when the transmission probability is small. This occurs
when γ is large. Find the large γ expansion of the exact result.

T (E) = [ 1 + [V0 2 / 4 E (V0 − E) ] sinh2 γ ]−1 .

Show that for large γ the exact solution takes the form

T (E) ∼ [16E(V0 − E)/V0 2 ] e−2γ

and consequently show that the exact solution has the same functional form as the WKB approx-
imation (Twkb ∼ e−2γ ) whenever the behavior is dominated by the exponential term.

1.(a) First calculate the WKB exponential transmission coefficient

Z 2a Z 2a ¯p ¯
1 1 ¯ ¯
γ= |p(x)| dx = ¯ 2m(E − V0 )¯ dx .
h̄ 0 h̄ 0

p
Since V (x) = V0 with V0 > E, we have p(x) = 2m(E − V (x)) . When V0 > E as it is in this
problem, the momentum will be imaginary.
p But note that we need only the magnitude of the
momentum which is given by |p(x)| = 2m(V0 − E). Doing the integral, we find
Z p Z
1 2a
1p 2a
1p £ ¤2a
γ= 2m(V0 − E) dx = 2m(V0 − E) dx = 2m(V0 − E) x 0
h̄ 0 h̄ 0 h̄

1
 2a p
⇒ γ= 2m(V0 − E) .
h̄

1.(b) The WKB transmission probability is given by

½ µ ¶¾
−2γ 2a p
TWKB = e = exp −2 2m(V0 − E)
h̄

½ µ ¶¾
4a p
⇒ TWKB = exp − 2m(V0 − E) .
h̄

1.(c) Now let’s compare this approximate WKB result with the exact result, which is given by

1 V02
= 1+ sinh2 (γ),
T 4E(V0 − E)
p
where γ = 2a 2m(V0 − E) / h̄ as above. Expanding the hyperbolic sine function
µ ¶2
2 eγ − e−γ
sinh (γ) =
2

for large γ, we find

µ ¶2
2 eγ 1 2γ
sinh (γ) ≈ = e
2 4
1 V02
⇒ ≈ 1+ e2γ .
T 16E(V0 − E)
Since γ is large, we must have V0 >> E, so we can neglect the 1 and write

1 V02 16E(V0 − E) −2γ

≈ e2γ ⇒ T ≈ e .
T 16E(V0 − E) V02

Note that this has exactly the same functional form as our WKB result in part b, and that the
addition, the coefficient
16E(V0 − E)
V02
is of order 1. Note further that the dependence on (V0 − E) is dominated by the exponential
factor, and that the WKB method provides a good approximation for the finite square barrier
when V0 >> E.

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2. The WKB solution to the quantum mechanical bouncing ball problem.
(a) First write down the WKB quantization condition for a potential with one hard wall and one
soft wall

Z x2
1
p(x) dx = (n − ) πh̄.
x1 4

Then find the classical turning points,pwhich are the limits of integration. Since p(x) = 0 at the
two turning points, and since p(x) = 2m(E − mgx), we find immediately that the two turning
points are given by x1 = 0 and x2 = (E/mg).
(b) Do the integral to find the bound state energies. You should find

9 2 2 2 1 1
En = [ π mg h̄ (n − )2 ] 3 .
8 4

(c) Put in the numbers and compare your results with the exact results, you should find that E1
agrees to one percent and that E2 , E3 , and E4 agree to three significant figures!
(d) Find the principal quantum number n required to make the expectation value < x > = one
meter. Use the result:

< x > = (2En /3mg)

and your expression for En from part b.

2.(a) The potential energy above the surface of the earth is given by

V (x) = mgx for x > 0.

Since the ball cannot pass through the surface, we also have

V (x) = ∞ for x ≤ 0.

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So our idealized potential for the quantum mechanical bouncing ball looks like this

2.(b) The time-independent Schrodinger equation is given by,

h̄2 d2
− ψ(x) + (mgx) ψ(x) = E ψ(x).
2m dx2
Change variables
E d d d2 d2
y =x− ⇒ = ⇒ = .
mg dy dx dy 2 dx2
Then our TISE becomes
µ ¶
h̄2 d2 E
− ψ(y) + mg y + ψ(y) − E ψ(y) = 0
2m dy 2 mg
h̄2 d2
⇒ − ψ(y) + mgy ψ(y) + E ψ(y) − E ψ(y) = 0
2m dy 2
µ ¶
d2 2m2 g
⇒ ψ(y) − y ψ(y) = 0.
dy 2 h̄2
Let µ ¶1/3
2m2 g
α=
h̄2
so that the above equation becomes

µ ¶
d2
− α3 y ψ(y) = 0.
dy 2

This is Airy’s equation. To put this in the standard form, let

µ ¶ µ ¶µ ¶
E d2 d dz d dz d d d2
z = αy = α x − ⇒ 2
= = (α) (α) = α2 2 .
mg dy dz dy dz dy dz dz dz
Then the boxed equation becomes
µ ¶
d2 d2
α2 ψ(z) − (α2 z) ψ(z) = 0 ⇒ − z ψ(z) = 0,
dz 2 dz 2

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The solutions to Airy’s equation are the Airy functions. There are two linearly independent Airy
functions called Ai (z) and Bi (z). The Bi (z) are unbounded for large z, so they do not apply to
our problem. We require finite solutions and these are given by Ai (z).
2.(c) The first four values of the argument zn for which Ai(zn ) = 0, are given by

n zn
1 −2.338
2 −4.088
3 −5.521
4 −6.787

To convert this information into the eigenenergies, first relate zn to yn and then relate yn to x and
En : µ ¶
En
zn = αyn = α x − .
mg
Now use the boundary condition at x = 0, namely that ψ(0) = 0, to obtain
µ ¶1/3
αEn 2m2 g En
ψ(x = 0) = 0 ⇒ ψ(zn ) = 0 when zn = − =− .
mg h̄2 mg

So, we obtain
21/3 m2/3 g 1/3 21/3
zn = − En = − En .
h̄2/3 mg h̄2/3 m1/3 g 2/3
Solving for the eigenenergies, we find

h̄2/3 m1/3 g 2/3

En = − zn .
21/3

Then using g = 9.80 m/s2 and m = 0.100 kg, we obtain

(1.05 × 10−34 J · s)2/3 (0.100 kg)1/3 (9.80 m/s2 )2/3

En = − zn
21/3
(2.226 × 10−23 )(0.464)(4.579)
=− zn
1.260
= −3.755 × 10−23 zn joules.

We conclude that eigenenergies are given by

n zn En
1 −2.338 8.779 × 10−23 J
2 −4.088 1.535 × 10−22 J
3 −5.521 2.073 × 10−22 J
4 −6.787 2.548 × 10−22 J

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2.(d) From the Virial theorem, we have

1 1 1
hT i = hV i = hmgxi = mghxi
2 2 2
So, the total energy is given by

1 3 3
hHi = hT i + hV i = hV i + hV i = hV i = mghxi.
2 2 2

To calculate the size hxi versus the quantum number n, solve for hxi in terms of En

3 2En
En = mghxi ⇒ hxi = .
2 3mg

So, for the ground state of the “point baseball” we find

2(8.779 × 10−23 J)
hxi = 2 = 5.97 × 10−23 m .
3(0.100 kg)(9.80 m/s )

To calculate the mean separation of an electron in its ground state, start with

h̄2/3 m1/3 g 2/3

En = − zn
21/3

and use the mass of an electron 9.11 × 10−31 kg to obtain

2
(1.05 × 10−34 J · s)2/3 (9.11 × 10−31 kg)1/3 (9.80 m/s )2/3
E1 = − (−2.338)
21/3
(2.226 × 10−23 )(9.69 × 10−11 )(4.579)
=− zn J
1.260
= 1.833 × 10−32 J

2(1.833 × 10−32 J)
hxi = 2 = 1.369 × 10−3 m = 1.369 mm.
3(9.11 × 10−31 kg)(9.80 m/s )

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3. The WKB solution to the simple harmonic oscillator problem.

(a) First write down the WKB quantization condition for a potential with two soft walls

Z x2
1
p(x)dx = (n − ) πh̄.
x1 2

Then find the classical turning points,qwhich are the limits of integration. Since p(x) = 0 at the
two turning points, and since p(x) = 2m(E − 12 mω 2 x2 ), you should find immediately that the
p
two turning points are given by x2 = −x1 = (2E/mω 2 ).

(b) Do the integral to find the bound state energies. You should find

1
En = (n − ) h̄ω.
2

This turns into the standard form En = (n + 12 ) h̄ω when we use the simple harmonic oscillator
convention of starting from n = 0 instead of the WKB convention of starting from n = 1. Note
that the WKB approximation yields the exact energies for the simple harmonic oscillator!

3.(a) For a potential well with two “soft” walls, the WKB quantization condition becomes
Z x2 µ ¶
1
p(x) dx = n− πh̄ with n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
x1 2

The classical turning points for the SHO are given by

1 2En
mω 2 x2 = En ⇒ x2 =
2 mω 2

µ ¶1/2
2En
⇒ x=± .
mω 2

3.(b) To evaluate the WKB quantization condition integral, we need the momentum which is given
by
· µ ¶¸1/2
p 1 £ ¤1/2
p(x) = 2m(E − V (x)) = 2mE − 2m mω 2 x2 = 2mE − m2 ω 2 x2 .
2

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Putting this in the integral and noting E = 12 mω 2 x22 , we obtain

Z x2 Z x2 · µ ¶¸1/2 Z x2 · µ ¶ µ ¶¸1/2
1 1 1
p(x) dx = 2mE − 2m mω 2 x2 dx = 2m 2 2
mω x2 − 2m 2 2
mω x dx
x1 x1 2 x1 2 2
Z x2 Z x2
£ 2 ¤1/2 £ 2 ¤1/2
= mω x2 − x2 dx = 2mω x2 − x2 dx.
x1 0

Form 4.3.3.1.2 on page 158 of Jeffrey is the indefinite integral we need, namely
Z Ã s !
2 1/2 1 2 1/2 1 a −1 −c
(a + cx ) dx = x(a + cx ) + √ sin x , a > 0, c < 0.
2 2 −c x22

For our integral, a = x22 and c = −1, so both qualifying conditions are met, and our integral
becomes
Z x2 " Ã s !#x2
£ 2 ¤ 1/2 1 1 x2
1
2mω x2 − x2 dx = 2mω x(x22 − x2 )1/2 + √2 sin−1 x
0 2 2 1 x22
0
· µ ¶ ¯x2 ¸
1 2 2 1/2 1 2 1/2 x22
−1 x ¯¯
= 2mω x(x2 − x2 ) − (0)(x2 − 0) + sin
2 2 2 x2 ¯0
£ ¤
= mωx22 0 − 0 + sin−1 (1) − sin−1 (0)
hπ i π
= mωx22 − 0 = mω x22
µ2 ¶ 2
π 2En πE
= mω = .
2 mω 2 ω

So, the WKB quantization condition becomes

µ ¶ µ ¶
πE 1 1
= n− πh̄ ⇒ E = n− h̄ω, n = 1, 2, 3, . . . .
ω 2 2

Switching to the standard convention n = 0, 1, 2, 3, we find

µ ¶
1
En = n + h̄ω.
2

Note that we have obtained the exact eigenenergies of the quantum mechanical SHO.