What are energy eigenvalues?

Thus the allowed energies are not continuous but discrete. Such specific discrete (step-like) energies are called energy eigenvalues, which was derived from the German word eigen meaning “characteristic” or “unique”. We call this type of energies discrete energy eigenvalues or say that the energy is quantized.

What is the difference between eigenfunction and eigenstate?

An eigenstate is a vector in the Hilbert space of a system, things we usually write like | >. An eigenfunction is an element of the space of functions on some space, which forms a vector space since you can add functions (pointwise) and multiply them by constants.

What is an Eigenstates in quantum mechanics?

An eigenstate is a quantum state whose wave function is an eigenfunction of the linear operator that corresponds with an observable. The eigenvalue of that wave function would be the quantity you observe when you measure that observable (the eigenvalue could be a vector quantity).

What are the eigenstates and eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian?

When discussing the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian (ˆH), the associated eigenvalues represent energies and within the context of the momentum operators, the associated eigenvalues refer to the momentum of the particle.

Are Eigenstates stationary?

phase factor cannot influence the outcome of an observation, from an experimental perspective, energy eigenstates do not change with time. It is therefore termed a “stationary state”.

Why is energy an eigenvalue?

It’s called an energy eigenvalue because the observable is the energy. Your physical system will be described by a wave function (I prefer to call it a “state”) Ψ. If Ψ satisfies that eigenvalue equation, then you will measure the system to have the energy E with 100\% probability.

What do you mean by energy eigenfunctions and eigenvalues?

The wavefunction for a given physical system contains the measurable information about the system. *”Eigenvalue” comes from the German “Eigenwert” which means proper or characteristic value. “Eigenfunction” is from “Eigenfunktion” meaning “proper or characteristic function”.

Are energy eigenstates also momentum eigenstates?

, the energy eigenstates are also momentum eigenstates. This is because the potential is translationally symmetric. This means that we can construct a common eigenbasis.

Why are Eigenstates orthogonal?

Eigenfunctions of a Hermitian operator are orthogonal if they have different eigenvalues. ψ and φ are two eigenfunctions of the operator  with real eigenvalues a1 and a2, respectively. Since the eigenvalues are real, a∗1=a1 and a∗2=a2.

Are eigenvectors and Eigenstates the same?

is that eigenvector is (linear algebra) a vector that is not rotated under a given linear transformation; a left or right eigenvector depending on context while eigenstate is (physics) a dynamic quantum mechanical state whose wave function is an eigenvector that corresponds to a physical quantity.