Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2011/paper-2/section-b/b7/solution
Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 2 Section B B7 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
A pure stationary state of a time-independent Hamiltonian operator is . Its probability density and all expectations of time-independent observables are constant. This does not require zero probability current.
For real scalar potential energy and no vector potential, substitute and its complex conjugate into . The potential terms cancel:Thus the probability current is . In a stationary state : flow may circulate without changing the density.
Here only the azimuthal phase contributes an imaginary logarithmic derivative. Since ,There is no radial or polar flow; the azimuthal current is independent of , so its divergence vanishes. The apparent coordinate singularity at cancels in the final expression.
The z-component of orbital angular momentum follows from the moment of the mass current:Indeed . This agrees with acting on the wavefunction.
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