Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2001/ib/paper-1/9f/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 ib Paper 1 9F Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-20
For an incident particle from the left, take and , and defineThe time-independent Schrödinger equation gives an incident plus reflected plane wave on the left and an outgoing transmitted plane wave on the right:Continuity of the wavefunction and its derivative at a finite potential jump yields and . Hence and . The incident and reflected probability currents have equal wave-number magnitude, soAs a check, the transmitted current fraction is , and the two probabilities sum to one.
New to topics? Read the docs here!