Graphing Wave Function Phi(x): What Does It Look Like?

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SUMMARY

The wave function phi(x) is defined as phi(x) = Ke^(-a|x|), which resembles an exponential decay graph reflected along the y-axis. The probability distribution, represented as |\Psi(x)|^2, serves as the probability density function. To accurately measure the probability of finding a particle in a specific interval [a, b], one must integrate |\Psi(x)|^2 over that interval after normalizing the wave function. This discussion focuses on a one-particle system in one dimension.

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  • Knowledge of probability density functions
  • Basic calculus for integration and normalization
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alias25
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what would a wave function of

phi(x) = Ke^(-a|x|)

look like?

would it be like an exponential graph with a graph reflected along the y axis?

and its probability distrubution (phi)^2?
i have no idea...i can't seem to find it by googling.
 
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alias25 said:
would it be like an exponential graph with a graph reflected along the y axis?
.

Yes. Try plotting a few values

alias25 said:
and its probability distrubution (phi)^2?

[tex]|\Psi (x)|^2[/tex] is the probability density.

The probability of measuring a position in the interval [a, b] is the integral of [tex]|\Psi (x)|^2[/tex] evaluted between a and b, make sure to normalise the wavefunction first.
nb: This is 1-particle in 1-dimension, which is what I suspect you want.
 

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