Penetrating the Rectangular Potential Barrier, E < V0

In summary, the conversation is about comparing the results of a code that solves a problem involving a rectangular barrier. The speaker is asking for help in finding an error in their code that results in a different concavity compared to the known correct result. They provide the code and constants used in their work and also mention trying to simplify the answer. The other person suggests numerically integrating the differential equation to check the concavity.
  • #1
Chip
30
1
The following code compares my result to the known correct result. Can anyone find where my error is? If you run the octave code you will see that my answer has positive concavity whereas the correct one has negative concavity...I've checked this so many times and can't find my error. I wanted to see if I could correct it at this stage before trying to simplify to the known answer...thanks for any help.

****

%I wrote this to check my work thus far on solving the GIANT algebra problem of penetrating the rectangular barrier, where E < V0
clear;close;clc;
% setting some constants

hbar = 1.0545718*10^(-34);
m = 9.10938356 * 10^(-31);
a = 10^-20; %can be purely arbitrary

V0 = 100; %can be purely arbitrary
inc = 1;
E = inc:inc:(V0-inc);

%wavenumber formulas
k1 = (sqrt(2*m*E))/hbar;
k2 = (sqrt(2*m*(V0-E)))/hbar;

%this section contains the solution
TSoln = (1 + (((sinh(k2*a)).^2)./((4*E/V0).*(1-E/V0)))).^(-1)

%this section contains my work thus far

iVal = i*k2/k1;
BLABLA1 = ( 1 - ((1-iVal).*(e.^(-2*k2*a) )./(1+iVal) ) ) + iVal.* (1 + ((1-iVal).*(e.^(-2*k2*a) )./(1+iVal)));
BLABLA2 = ( 1 - ((1+iVal).*(e.^(2*k2*a) )./(1-iVal) ) ) - iVal.* (1 + ((1+iVal).*(e.^(2*k2*a) )./(1-iVal)));

C = (e.^(-i*k1*a)).* ((e.^(-k2*a)./ ( BLABLA1 ) ) + (e.^(k2*a)./ ( BLABLA2 )));
TChip = 4*(C.*conj(C))

plot (E, [TSoln;TChip]);
 
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  • #2
Why not numerically integrate the differential equation. If the sign of the second derivative is right, the concavity of the solution will also be right.
 

1. What is a rectangular potential barrier?

A rectangular potential barrier is a barrier that has a constant potential energy inside a specific region and an infinite potential energy outside of that region. It is often used in physics to model the behavior of particles encountering a potential energy barrier.

2. What does E < V0 mean in the context of penetrating a rectangular potential barrier?

In this context, E represents the energy of the particle and V0 represents the height of the potential barrier. E < V0 indicates that the energy of the particle is less than the height of the potential barrier, which means the particle has a finite probability of penetrating through the barrier and continuing on its path.

3. How is the probability of penetration calculated in this scenario?

The probability of penetration is calculated using the Schrödinger equation, which is a mathematical equation that describes the behavior of particles in quantum mechanics. This equation takes into account the energy of the particle, the height of the potential barrier, and the width of the barrier to determine the probability of the particle penetrating through the barrier.

4. What happens if the energy of the particle is greater than the potential barrier?

If the energy of the particle is greater than the potential barrier, the particle will have a higher probability of penetrating through the barrier and continuing on its path. However, there is still a chance that the particle will be reflected back by the barrier, leading to a decrease in the probability of penetration.

5. How does the width of the potential barrier affect the probability of penetration?

The width of the potential barrier is inversely proportional to the probability of penetration. This means that as the width of the barrier increases, the probability of the particle penetrating through it decreases. Conversely, as the width of the barrier decreases, the probability of penetration increases.

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