Why do these terms vanish in this solution?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the concept of wave functions in quantum mechanics and their behavior at infinity. Specifically, it addresses the requirement that wave functions and their derivatives must vanish as they approach infinity, a condition that simplifies the analysis of physical systems. This principle is analogous to the behavior of electric fields, which also diminish at large distances from their source. Understanding this concept is crucial for correctly solving problems related to quantum mechanics.

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Homework Statement



I was given this problem as homework and managed to find the solution online, but I don't fully understand it.

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My only question, and the reason I was getting this problem wrong, is because I wasn't realizing that the functions evaluated from -∞ to +∞ were vanishing. Is this a concept from calculus I'm not understanding or is this related somehow to a QM postulate or something?

Thanks!
 
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That condition is just a physicality condition on f. f is a wave function so the physical interpretation of this is that any wave function or derivatives of wave functions must vanish or be zero at infinity. Its kind of like an electric field due to a charge source being zero really far away from the charge source. Its a simplifying assumption.
 


Ah, thanks.
 

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