0
$\begingroup$

I was given a wave equation.

I know that probability amplitude is the eigenvalue of an observable operating in a state.

$$H| \psi\rangle = h| \psi\rangle$$

where $h$ is the probability amplitude of $H$ on state $|\psi\rangle$.

The only thing I know about expectation value is it should be written as

$$\langle H \rangle,$$

but as far as I can understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, aren't they the same thing?

$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ They are not the same thing. A quick way to see this is that a probability amplitude always has magnitude $\leq 1$, while an expectation value can have any value. $\endgroup$
    – Danu
    Mar 18, 2014 at 7:41

3 Answers 3

1
$\begingroup$

There are different eigenvalues $h_n$ with different probabilities (lets call them $\phi_n$).

Your expectation value is then $\sum_n h_n\cdot \phi_n$

If you have only one eigenvalue it's obviously identical to the expectation value

$\endgroup$
1
$\begingroup$

In what you wrote above $h$ is not the probability amplitude and for most states the equation you wrote: $$ H|\psi\rangle=h|\psi\rangle $$ It is only true if $|\psi\rangle$ happens to be an eigenstate of the Hamiltonian.

$H$ can be written in the form $$ H = \sum_j h_j|j\rangle\langle j| $$ where the $j$s are just numbers that label each possible outcome of a measurement, they could be $1,2,3,4\dots$ or $\dots -1,-2,-3,0,1,2,3\dots$ or soemthing else depending on how it is helpful to label the outcomes. The $h_j$ are the set of possible values of $H$ and they are not limited to be between 0 and 1, unlike probabilities.

The probability amplitude of the $j$th outcome is $\phi_j = \langle j|\psi\rangle$ and has a square magnitude between 0 and 1. By contrast $$ H|\psi\rangle=\sum_j h_j \phi_j |j\rangle\langle j| $$ and $h_j \phi_j$ need not have an amplitude between 0 and 1. $h_j$ could be 1,000,000 and $\phi_j = i/2$ in which case their product doesn't have a square amplitude between 0 and 1.

The expectation value is $$ \langle H\rangle=\langle\psi|H|\psi\rangle=\sum_j h_j |\phi_j|^2. $$ Each term in that sum is the product of the probability for that outcome and the value of that outcome.

You might want to read a book about quantum mechanics like Christopher Isham's "Lectures on Quantum Theory: Mathematical and Structural Foundations".

$\endgroup$
0
$\begingroup$

$\psi\psi^* $ is the probability amplitude according to the Copenhagen interpretation, which is the most commonly accepted interpretation of the wave function.

H is the Hamiltonian.

h is usually the symbol for Planck's constant and would be the eigenvalue in the equation of the question.

$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.