This animation shows the probability density of a Gaussian-shaped wave packet excited in the infinite square well potential.

The dynamics of this wave packet are exactly periodic, with the period given in terms of the mass m of the particle and the length L of the square well, with:

At simple fractions of this time T_rev, the probability density shows fractional revivals, consisting of several clones of the original Gaussian shape, distributed uniformly across the square well.

More information on wave packets in the infinite square well can be found in the paper:

Fractional wave-function revivals in the infinite square well
David L. Aronstein and C. R. Stroud, Jr.
Phys. Rev. A 55, 4526 (1997).

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Hideomi Nihira ( nihira@optics.rochester.edu ).
Last modified 13 September 2006