Scribd
Upload
339 views

Eigenfunction Continued

The function eax is an eigenfunction of the operator d / dx. But, a different function of x (the function x) is not eigenfunctional. If the function cos(3x + 5) is not a function of the operator, what is the corresponding eigenvalue?

Uploaded by

Prasad Alex
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
339 views

Eigenfunction Continued

The function eax is an eigenfunction of the operator d / dx. But, a different function of x (the function x) is not eigenfunctional. If the function cos(3x + 5) is not a function of the operator, what is the corresponding eigenvalue?

Uploaded by

Prasad Alex
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Eigenfunction continued The function eax is an eigenfunction of the operator d/dx because (d/dx)eax = aeax which is a constant (a)

multiplying the original function. But, eax2 is not an eigenfunction of d/dx, because (d/dx) eax2 = 2ax eax2, which is a constant (2a) times a different function of x (the function x eax2).

Is the function cos(3x + 5) an eigenfunction of the operator d2/dx2 and, if so, what is the corresponding eigenvalue? Method. Perform the indicated operation on the given function and see if the function satis es an eigenvalue equation. Use (d/dx)sin ax = a cos ax and (d/dx)cos ax = - a sin ax. Answer. The operator operating on the function yields d2/dx2 (cos (3x + 5)) = d/dx (-3 sin (3x + 5) = - 9 cos(3x + 5) and we see that the original function reappears multiplied by the eigen-value - 9.

Complete set of functions All the eigenfunctions of an operator is known as the complete set of functions. A general function can be expanded in terms of all the eigenfunctions of an operator, or complete set of functions. That is, if fn is an eigenfunction of an operator O with eigenvalue vn (O fn = vn fn), then a general function g can be expressed as the linear combination fn c nf n = g
n

Degenerate eigenfunctions is a a set of functions with the same eigenvalue. A special case of these linear combinations is when we have a set of degenerate eigenfunctions then a linear combination of degenerate eigenfunctions is also an eigenfunction.

You might also like