- #1
Niles
- 1,866
- 0
Hi all.
When a quantum state is said to be degenerate, then it means that two states [itex]\psi_1[/itex] and [itex]\psi_2[/itex] result in the same energy and that [itex]|\psi_1|2\neq|\psi_2|2[/itex], am I correct? Now in my book we have a wavefunction given by:
[tex]
\psi_n =\frac{1}{\sqrt{L}}\exp(2\pi i nx/L),
[/tex]
where n is a whole integer (i.e. n can also be negative) and L is some constant. The energies are [itex]E_n\propto n^2[/itex]. Let's look at n=1 and n=-1. These states result in the same energy, but the absolute square of the wavefunctions are equal. Now according to my book, this is a degenerate state, but according to: Where is my reasoning wrong?
When a quantum state is said to be degenerate, then it means that two states [itex]\psi_1[/itex] and [itex]\psi_2[/itex] result in the same energy and that [itex]|\psi_1|2\neq|\psi_2|2[/itex], am I correct? Now in my book we have a wavefunction given by:
[tex]
\psi_n =\frac{1}{\sqrt{L}}\exp(2\pi i nx/L),
[/tex]
where n is a whole integer (i.e. n can also be negative) and L is some constant. The energies are [itex]E_n\propto n^2[/itex]. Let's look at n=1 and n=-1. These states result in the same energy, but the absolute square of the wavefunctions are equal. Now according to my book, this is a degenerate state, but according to: Where is my reasoning wrong?