Derivation of momentum expectancy

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers on the derivation of the expectation value of momentum as presented in Griffiths' "Introduction to Quantum Mechanics." The key equation discussed is \left( x \left. \left( \Psi^* \frac{\partial\Psi}{\partial x} - \frac{\partial \Psi^*}{\partial x}\Psi \right) \right) \right|_{-\infty}^{+\infty} = 0. The participant A_B seeks clarification on why this expression evaluates to zero when the limits are considered. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding boundary conditions in quantum mechanics.

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A_B
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Hi,

I'm working through Griffiths' Introduction to QM, In the derivation for the expectation value of momentum, he uses that
\left( x \left. \left( \Psi^* \frac{\partial\Psi}{\partial x} - \frac{\partial \Psi^*}{\partial x}\Psi \right) \right) \right|_{-\infty}^{+\infty} = 0

Why is this so? It's easy to see that this is zero if the x weren't there, but I can't figure out why the limits are zero with the x in.

Thanks,
A_B
 
Last edited:
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since you said that it's easy to see that this is zeero if the x weren't there, wouldn't that mean by your reasoning that everything inside the brackets would equal zero.
 
I'm sorry, the x is included in the evaluation, I edited the first post to make that clear, thanks.
 

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