How to get position operator in momentum space?

azoroth134
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Hi, I wish to get position operator in momentum space using Fourier transformation, if I simply start from here,

$$ <x>=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} dx \Psi^* x \Psi $$

I could do the same with the momentum operator, because I had a derivative acting on |psi there, but in this case, How may I get the ih d/dp thing for the position operator, please give some hint
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
Well, since you only wanted a hint...

Express ##\Psi(x)## in terms of its Fourier transform ##\tilde\Psi(p)## .
 
I already did that, I just don't know what to do after that, I don't have any derivative to perform on x or p
 
For a function ##f(x)## and its Fourier transform ##F(k)## (assuming it has one), we have the relation ##f'(x) = FT[ikF(k)]## and the inverse transform ##ikF(k) = FT^{-1}[f'(x)]##. Using this how would you write ##x\psi(x)## in momentum space?
 
azoroth134 said:
I already did that [...]
Heh, then you should show your work. (Asking only vague questions makes it harder for others to help you constructively.)
 
...and do you have to do it with wave functions, or is Dirac notation allowed?
 
Not an expert in QM. AFAIK, Schrödinger's equation is quite different from the classical wave equation. The former is an equation for the dynamics of the state of a (quantum?) system, the latter is an equation for the dynamics of a (classical) degree of freedom. As a matter of fact, Schrödinger's equation is first order in time derivatives, while the classical wave equation is second order. But, AFAIK, Schrödinger's equation is a wave equation; only its interpretation makes it non-classical...
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. Towards the end of the first lecture for the Qiskit Global Summer School 2025, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Olivia Lanes (Global Lead, Content and Education IBM) stated... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/quantum-entanglement-is-a-kinematic-fact-not-a-dynamical-effect/ by @RUTA
Is it possible, and fruitful, to use certain conceptual and technical tools from effective field theory (coarse-graining/integrating-out, power-counting, matching, RG) to think about the relationship between the fundamental (quantum) and the emergent (classical), both to account for the quasi-autonomy of the classical level and to quantify residual quantum corrections? By “emergent,” I mean the following: after integrating out fast/irrelevant quantum degrees of freedom (high-energy modes...
Back
Top