Probability wave function is still in ground state after imparting momentum

xoxomae
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Homework Statement


An interaction occurs so that an instantaneous force acts on a particle imparting a momentum ## p_{0} = \hbar k_{0}## to the ground state SHO wave function. Find the probability that the system is still in its ground state.

Homework Equations


##\psi _{0} =\left( \frac{mw}{\hbar\pi} \right )^\frac{1}{4} e^{-mwx^{2}/2\hbar} ##

The Attempt at a Solution


[/B]
##\Psi(x)=\psi_{0}e^{ik_{0}x}##
This wave function gives a <p> =##\hbar k_{0}##
Im confused whether this is the correct Fourier transform to do.
##c(k)=\frac{1}{2\pi}^{0.5}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-ikx}\psi_{0}e^{ik_{0}x}dx##
And then solving for when the wavenumber of the ground state using E0=0.5* hbar * w.
Therefore
##c(k)^2 ## = Probability

Is this correct?
 
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You want to know the probability of a particular result of a measurement of energy.
 
Ah right. So would this be the probability of the system still being in the ground state?
##\left | \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \psi_{0} \psi_{0} e^{ik_{o}x}dx\right |^2=P##
 
Well done - left out a star, but ##\psi_0## is real so...
 
Thank you. Do you by any chance know any way to solve that integral by hand? I solved it on mathematica and it gave me ##P=e^\frac{-{k_{0}}^{2}\hbar}{4mw}## but I have no idea how to solve it by hand. Thanks again.
 
Hint: integrate by parts. (That's normal for quantum.)
You may be able to shortcut using ##\int_\infty \psi_0^2\; dx = 1##
 
To solve this, I first used the units to work out that a= m* a/m, i.e. t=z/λ. This would allow you to determine the time duration within an interval section by section and then add this to the previous ones to obtain the age of the respective layer. However, this would require a constant thickness per year for each interval. However, since this is most likely not the case, my next consideration was that the age must be the integral of a 1/λ(z) function, which I cannot model.
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