Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2019 / ib / Paper 1 / 15B (Quantum Mechanics)

The Time-dependent Schrodinger equation for the one-dimensional Quantum harmonic oscillator isA stationary state has $\Psi (x,t)=\psi (x)e^{-iEt/\hslash }$, so cancellation of the common time factor gives

SetThe equation becomesWith $\psi =f(y)e^{-y^2/2}$,and hence $f$ obeys the Hermite differential equation

If $f$ is monic of degree $N$, the coefficient of $y^N$ in this equation is $ϵ-1-2N$. It must vanish, soWriting $f={\sum }_{k=0}^N{a}_k{y}^k$ gives the recurrenceThe coefficient of $y^{N-1}$ first gives $a_{N-1}=0$, and the recurrence preserves parity. If $N$ is even, every odd coefficient vanishes, so $f$ is an even function. The Gaussian factor is also even; therefore the stationary state $\psi$ has even parity.