Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/ib/paper-2/18d/c/solution

Write with . Normalization of the Gaussian wave packet gives , hence . The supplied Gaussian integral ratio then gives
The momentum operator obeys , and direct second differentiation gives . Taking the expectation value and substituting the first result gives
since . These are the second moments of a complex Gaussian wave packet.
For the solution in part (b), the trigonometric identity
gives, writing ,
Thus normalizability requires , and the exact expectation values are
Since ,
Their difference is the constant , so the mean energy stays constant despite exponential spreading in both observables.

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