Probability density and wavefunction for harmonic oscillator

hellomister
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Homework Statement


Does a wavefunction have to be normalized before you can calculate the probability density?


Homework Equations


n/a


The Attempt at a Solution


Im thinking yes? so that your probability will be in between 0 and 1?
 
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hellomister said:

Homework Statement


Does a wavefunction have to be normalized before you can calculate the probability density?

Homework Equations


n/a

The Attempt at a Solution


Im thinking yes? so that your probability will be in between 0 and 1?

Yes. You normalize it first. But that doesn't mean the probability density is between 0 and 1. If you have x has is definitely between 0 and 1/2 not elsewhere with uniform probability, that's a probability density of 2 between 0 and 1/2. It does mean the integrated probability density will be 1.
 
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There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...

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