- Exploring Notions of Momentum for Quantum Particles
- Project Year:
2020
- REU Student (s):
Marcus McLaurin | Morgan State University MD
- Student 1 Institution:
Morgan State University
- Project Mentor:
Shadi Tahvildar-Zadeh
- Project Mentor Area:
Mathematics
- Project Abstract:
For a classical system, momentum has been understood as the product of mass and velocity, however in a quantum system this is not the only notion for momentum. In the Bohmian interpretation of Quantum mechanics, there exists a guiding equation which helps support the classical understanding of momentum by providing both mass and velocity in a proportional relationship. However for specific particles such as photons, the classical notion of momentum is no longer applicable. To better understand momentum in a 1-dimensional quantum system I analyzed the possible different notions of momentum for systems with a finite number of particles and compared the results to strive for the overall "winner" in momentum measurement.
