University Physics Notes: Quantum Mechanics – The Simple Harmonic Oscillator - Summary
The simple harmonic oscillator models the motion of a wavefunction
subject to the potential function
illustrated
below.
The Schrodinger equation becomes![]()
The first few solutions, in order of increasing energy, are shown
below. In this table
and
![]()
|
Quantum Number |
Energy Eigenvalue |
Wavefunction |
|
0 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
These wavefunctions are illustrated below. The minimum possible
energy is
.