Application of the WKB Approximation to 2D

Quantum Systems
Tanzid Sultan
June 2016

Abstract
The WKB approximation is a powerful analytical tool that can be used to
obtain approximate solutions of the time-independent Schrodinger equation for
1D quantum systems. This technique can also be successfully applied to higher
dimensional systems when the potential energy function becomes separable.
The goal of this project is to formulate and demonstrate a framework that en-
ables one to solve problems involving arbitrary separable potentials using the
WKB approximation for 2D systems. A number of example problems involving
computations of bound-state energies, wave functions and tunnelling rates will
be discussed. Afterwards, the WKB technique will be applied to study the gen-
eral properties of a 2D electron gas confined to a rectangular plate and exposed
to a uniform transverse magnetic field.
Contents
1 Introduction 2

2 WKB Approximation in 2D 3

3 Bound States of the Paraboloid Potential Inside an Infinite Well 4

3.1 Case I: Ex < Vx (Lx ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2 Case II: Ex > Vx (Lx ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4 Tunnelling Through 2D Gaussian Barrier 8

4.1 Region I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.2 Region II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3 Region III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.4 Region IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

5 2D Electron Gas in Uniform Magnetic Field 15

6 Conclusion 16

7 Appendix 16

List of Figures
1 Potential Well. (a) Ex < Vx (Lx ) and (b) Ex > Vx (Lx ). . . . . . . 5
2 2D Gaussian Barrier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3 The particle can tunnel through the region x1 < x < x2 . . . . . . 9
4 The particle can tunnel through the region x1 < x < x2 . . . . . . 10
5 The transmitted wave can be found in regions II, III and IV. . . 11
6 Schematic for scattering in region I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7 Schematic for scattering in region II. Incoming waves are shown
in red, outgoing waves are shown in green. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
8 Schematic for scattering in region III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
9 Schematic for scattering in region IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

1
1 Introduction
Unlike the Variational Principle or Time-Independent Perturbation Theory, the
WKB approximation method is a semi-classical approach. We start by assuming
that the wave function has the following form,
f (x)
(x) = ei ~

where f (x) is an unknown complex-valued function of the x-coordinate. This

wave function represents a plane wave with spatially varyingpamplitude and
phase. Inserting it into the Schrodinger equation and letting p = 2m[E V (x)],

d2 p2
2
=
dx ~
00 0 2
i~f (f ) + p2 = 0 (1)

where f 0 and f 00 are the first and second derivatives of f respectively. Now,
expanding f (x) in a perturbative series in powers of ~ gives us

f (x) = f0 (x) + ~f1 (x) + ~2 f2 (x) + ~3 f3 (x) + ...

Inserting this series into (1), we obtain

[p (f00 )2 ] + ~[if000 2f00 f10 ] + ~2 [if100 f00 f20 (f10 )2 ] + O(~3 ) = 0

Since ~ 6= 0, every term in square brackets on the left hand side must vanish
identically. We now invoke the WKB approximation which amounts to keeping
terms upto first order in ~.

(f00 )2 = p2
Z
f0 (x) = p(x)dx

and
f000
f10 = i
2f00
i
f1 (x) = ln[p(x)] + const.
2
So the wave function is
i
(x) ' e ~ [f0 (x)+~f1 (x)]
C i x
R
= p e ~ p(x)dx (2)
p(x)

where C is a constant. The choice of lower limit of the integral in (2) only
affects the normalization constant out front (theres no need to specify it at
the moment). This approximation is valid provided that the potential energy

2
function varies slowly compared to k1 , i.e. V is essentially constant in a region
containing several full wavelengths of the wave function.

Note that if E < V (x), then p(x) becomes imaginary. Writing p(x) as i|p(x)|
for E < V (x), we can express the wave function as
i
R
C e ~ p(x)dx , E > V (x)
p(x)
(x) ' 1
R (3)
C e ~ |p(x)|dx , E < V (x)
|p(x)|

Also note that E = V p = 0 (classical turning-point) and the wave function

blows up. This undesirable feature poses serious problems for systems involving
certain kinds of potentials (such as potentials with sloping walls, etc.) which
require the wave function to be continuous at locations where p = 0. Luckily,
there are connection f ormulae which can be used to circumvent this problem
altogether.

2 WKB Approximation in 2D
Consider a particle of mass m moving under the influence of a 2D potential
V (x, y) of the form

V (x, y) = Vx (x) + Vy (y) (4)

In this case, the Schrodinger equation becomes separable. Letting (x, y) =

X(x)Y (y), we obtain

~2 2 2
 
+ + V (x, y) E
2m x2 y 2
~2 1 d2 X ~2 1 d2 Y
   
+ Vx (x) + + Vy (y) = E
2m X dx2 2m Y dy 2
Ex + Ey = E (5)

where
~2 d2 X
+ Vx X = Ex X (6)
2m dx2
~2 d2 Y
+ Vy Y = Ey Y (7)
2m dy 2

We can find approximate solutions of the 1D Schrodinger equations in (6) and (7)
by using the WKB approximation. The following table summarizes the various
solutions for different choices of Ex , Ey and E:

3
 X(x)R Y (x)R
i i
E > V , Ex > Vx , Cx e ~ px (x)dx Cy e ~ py (y)dy
px (x) py (y)
Ey > Vy
1
Cy
R
E > V , Ex > Vx , e ~ |py (y)|dy
|py (y)|
Ey < Vy
1 i
R
Cy
R
E > V , Ex < Vx , Cx e ~ |px (x)|dx
e ~ py (y)dy
|px (x)| py (y)
Ey > Vy
1
Cy
R
E < V , Ex < Vx , e ~ |py (y)|dy
|py (y)|
Ey < Vy
1 i
R
Cy
R
E < V , Ex < Vx , Cx e ~ |px (x)|dx
e ~ py (y)dy
|px (x)| py (y)
Ey > Vy
i
R
E < V , Ex > Vx , Cx e ~ px (x)dx

px (x)
Ey < Vy
where Cx and Cy are constants.
p
pj = 2m(Ej Vj ) , (j = x, y)

Once X(x) and Y (y) have been obtained, the wave function is given by the
product

(x, y) = X(x)Y (y)

3 Bound States of the Paraboloid Potential

Inside an Infinite Well
To demonstrate the methods developed in the previous section, let us consider a
particle of mass m in the following potential well,
V0 (x2 + y 2 ) , 0 < x < Lx , 0 < y < Ly

V (x, y) = (8)
, otherwise
where V0 is a constant. The particle is thus confined within a rectangular region
of sides Lx and Ly . The potential within the rectangular region is quadratic in
x and y and infinite at and beyond the boundaries. The Schrodinger equation
for this system is,
~2 2 2
 
2 2
+ + V0 (x + y ) E
2m x2 y 2
Noting that V (x, y) is of the separable form,

V (x, y) = Vx (x) + Vy (y)

where Vx (x) = V0 x2 and Vy (y) = V0 y 2 , we can apply separation of variables to

decompose the Schrodinger equation into the following,
~2 d2 X
+ V 0 x2 X = E x X (9)
2m dx2

4
 ~2 d2 Y
+ V0 y 2 Y = Ey Y (10)
2m dy 2

where E = Ex + Ey . Since (9) and (10) are identical and both are subject to
the same boundary conditions, it suffices to just solve one of them. Let us work
with equation (9). We would like to apply the WKB approximation to derive

Figure 1: Potential Well. (a) Ex < Vx (Lx ) and (b) Ex > Vx (Lx ).

analytical expressions for the approximate energy eigenstates and eigenvalues of

this system. But first, note that the energy eigenvalues can exist over two distinct
range of values: (i) Ex < Vx (Lx ) and (ii) Ex > Vx (Lx ). The point x = x1 in
Fig. 1 represents the classical turning-point where the particle has zero kinetic
energy. Let us study the two cases separately.

3.1 Case I: Ex < Vx (Lx )

For this case, the classical turning-point lies inside the well. Applying the WKB
method, the wave-function is approximately given by
h i Rx i
i x1
R
1

1 Ae ~ x p(x)dx + Be ~ x p(x)dx , 0 < x < x1
p(x) h

1 x 1 x
R R i
X(x) ' |p(x)|dx |p(x)|dx
1 Ce ~ x1 + De ~ x1 , x1 < x < Lx (11)

|p(x)|

0 , otherwise

Due to the infinite potential barriers at x = 0 and x = Lx , the wave function

must vanish at the boundaries. Therefore, invoking boundary conditions, we
obtain the following relations,

X(0) = 0
i
R x1 i
R x1
Ae ~ 0 p(x)dx
+ Be ~ 0 p(x)dx
=0
R x1
2i p(x)dx
A = Be ~ 0 (12)

5
and

X(Lx ) = 0
1
R Lx R Lx
|p(x)|dx ~1 |p(x)|dx
Ce ~ x1 + De x1 =0
R Lx
~2 |p(x)|dx
C = De x1 (13)

Moreover, since the wave function blows up at the turning-point, we can make
use of the connection formulae to join the wave function across the two regions.
The connection formulae supplies us with two more relations,
 
i 4 i
A=e D+ C (14)
2
 
i
B = ei 4 D C (15)
2

Combining (12), (13), (14) and (15) and performing some algebraic manipula-
tions gives us the following
    
Rx
i 4 ~i 0 1 p(x)dx i ~2 RxLx |p(x)|dx i i x1
R
p(x)dx i 2 Lx
R
|p(x)|dx
e e 1 e 1 = e 4 e~ 0 1 e ~ 1 x
2 2
  
i
R x 1 i 2
R Lx
|p(x)|dx
Im ei 4 e ~ 0 p(x)dx 1 e ~ x1 =0
2
 Z x1  
1 1 ~2 RxLx |p(x)|dx
sin p(x)dx + + arctan e 1 =0
~ 0 4 2
1 x1
Z  
1 ~2 RxLx |p(x)|dx
p(x)dx + + arctan e 1 = n
~ 0 4 2
Z x1    
1 1 2 R Lx |p(x)|dx
p(x)dx = n ~ + ~ arctan e ~ x1 , (n = 1, 2, 3...) (16)
0 4 2

The expression in (16) shows that the boundary conditions and connection for-
mulae naturally lead to energy quantization, and we may refer to this equation
as the quantization condition. (16) can be solved to obtain the approximate
energy eigenvalues. We can start by solving the following integrals,
Z x1 Z x1 p Z x1 r
p Ex
p(x)dx = 2m(Ex Vx (x))dx = 2mV0 x2 dx
0 0 0 V0
r
1 Ex Ex x1
= x1 x21 + arctan q
2 V0 V0 Ex
x 2
V0 1
Ex
=
4V0
Ex
where we have used the fact that x21 = V0 .

Lx Lx Lx
Z Z Z r
p p Ex
|p(x)|dx = 2m(Vx (x) Ex )dx = 2mV0 x2 dx
x1 x1 x1 V0

6
 q
r E
1 Ex Ex V0
= Lx L2x + ln p Ex

2 V0 V0 Lx + L2x V0

So the quantization condition becomes,

Ex

q ~V
Ex 0  q 
4~V0 1 V0 ~1 Lx L2x E x
Ex (V0 , Lx ) = (4n 1)~ V0 + arctan
2 L + pL2 Ex
e V
0
(17)

x x V0

The above equation is transcendental and can be solved using numerical tech-
niques to find the energies for a given set of parameter values (V0 , Lx ).
Notice that in the limit Lx (which is essentially equivalent to removing
the infinite barrier at x = Lx ), the second term on the right-hand side of the
quantization condition vanishes, i.e.
Ex

q ~V
Ex 0  q 
1 V0 1 Lx L2x Ex
V0
lim arctan p E
e ~ =0
Lx 2 Lx + L2x V x
0

so that we recover the exact energy eigenvalues of the half-harmonic-oscillator

(put in V0 = 21 m 2 ).

3.2 Case II: Ex > Vx (Lx )

This case is simpler to analyze since we do not have to deal with the connection
formulae. Ex > Vx everywhere inside the well and using the WKB method, the
wave function is approximately given by
( h i Rx i x
R i
1 Ae ~ 0 p(x)dx + Be ~ 0 p(x)dx , 0 < x < Lx
X(x) ' p(x) (18)
0 , otherwise

We are free to choose the lower limit of the integral in X(x) to be zero. Once
again, the wave function must vanish at the boundaries.

X(0) = 0
A = B  Z x 
A 1
X(x) ' p sin p(x)dx (19)
p(x) ~ 0

and
Z Lx
X(Lx ) = 0 p(x)dx = n~
0
r
Ex Ex Lx
Lx L2x + arctan q = 2n~, (n = 1, 2, 3, ...)
V0 V0 Ex 2
V0 Lx

7
 (20)

Equation (20) describes the quantization condition for the case Ex > Vx (Lx ) and
must be solved numerically in order to obtain the energy eigenvalues.
The same analysis applies for solving (10), we simply replace Lx with Ly .

4 Tunnelling Through 2D Gaussian Barrier

Let us now consider a potential barrier of the following form,
2 2
V (x, y) = V0 (ex x + ey y ) (21)

Figure 2: 2D Gaussian Barrier.

We would like to study the scattering of an incoming plane wave with this
barrier. Noting that V (x, y) is of the separable form, we can use separation of
variables ((x, y) = X(x)Y (y)) to decompose the Scrodinger equation into
~2 d2 X
+ Vx X = Ex X (22)
2m dx2
~2 d2 Y
+ Vy Y = Ey Y (23)
2m dy 2
2 2
where Vx = V0 ex x , Vy = V0 ey y and E = Ex + Ey . We now have to deal
with two identical 1D scattering problems and it suffices to solve only one of
them. Let us choose to solve (22). Assuming that the particle is incident from
the left, we can use the WKB approximation to write down the wave function.
We shall strictly consider the case in which Ex < Vx (0). In the region,
x1 < x < x2 , the total energy of the particle is lower than the potential energy

8
 Figure 3: The particle can tunnel through the region x1 < x < x2 .

and tunneling can occur. In order to calculate the transmission co-efficient, we

need to relate the amplitudes of the transmitted and incident waves. The WKB
method gives us the following approximate form for the wave function,
h i x1
i
~i xx1 px (x)dx
R R

1 A x e ~ x
px (x)dx
+ B x e , x < x1
px (x) h


1 x 1 x
R R i
|p (x)|dx |p (x)|dx
X(x) ' 1 Cx e ~ x1 x + Dx e ~ x1 x , x1 < x < x2 (24)
|px (x)| R
i x
Fx e ~ x2 px (x)dx


, x > x2
px (x)
p
where px (x) = 2m[E Vx (x)]. We can relate the amplitudes Ax , Bx , Cx , Dx
and F by using the connection formulae:
 
i 4 Cx
Ax = e iDx
2
 
i 4 Cx
Bx = e + iDx
2
i x i
Cx = e e 4 Fx
2

Dx = ex ei 4 Fx
r  
R x2
where x = x1 |px (x)|dx. Now x1,2 = 1x ln EV0x so that

r  
1 V0
Z x2 Z
x
ln Ex
q
x = |px (x)|dx = 2 2m(V0 ex x2 E)dx (25)
x1 0

Similarly, invoking the WKB approximation and only considering the case

9
 Figure 4: The particle can tunnel through the region x1 < x < x2 .

Ey < Vy (0), we obtain the following solutions of (23):

i y1
~i yy1 py (y)dy
h R R i
1 py (y)dy

p (y) y
A e ~ y + B y e , y < y1

y
1 y y
1
h R R i
|p (y)|dy |p (y)|dy

Y (y) ' 1 Cy e ~ y1 y + Dy e ~ y 1 y , y1 < y < y2 (26)
|p y (y)| Ry
i
p (y)dy

Fy

e ~ y2 y , y > y2
py (y)
p
where py (y) = 2m[E Vy (y)]. The connection formulae are identical to those
of X(x):
 
i 4 Cy
Ay = e iDy
2
 
Cy
By = ei 4 + iDy
2
i y i
Cy = e e 4 Fy
2

Dy = ey ei 4 Fy
r  
Ry
where y = y12 |py (y)|dy and y1,2 = 1y ln EV0y . Hence the full wave func-

10
tion of the particle is given by

1 ix + B eix Ay eiy + By eiy

px py Ax e x , x < x1 , y < y1
1 i i i



px py Ax e x + Bx e x Fy e y , x < x1 , y > y2



1 (Cx ex + Dx ex ) Ay eiy + By eiy



, x1 < x < x2 , y < y1
|px |py



1
(Cx ex + Dx ex ) Fy eiy


, x1 < x < x2 , y > y1




|p |p
x y
1 (Cx ex + Dx ex ) (Cy ey + Dy ey )

(x, y) ' , x1 < x < x 2 , y 1 < y < y 2
|px ||py |
1 Ax eix + Bx eix (Cy ey + Dy ey )



, x < x1 , y1 < y < y2
px |py |



1 Fx eix (Cy ey + Dy ey )


, x > x2 , y1 < y < y2


p |p
x y |
1 ix iy + B eiy



F e A e , x > x2 , y < y1

x y y



p p
x y
Fx Fy eix eiy

, x > x2 , y > y2
px py
(27)

where
Z Z
1 1
j = pj and j = |pj | , (j = x, y)
~ ~

In this setup, the particle enters from the region: x < x1 , y < y1 (Region I
as indicated in the figure below) and scatters off into the complementary region
(Regions, II, III and IV). We can calculate the transmission probabilities for the

Figure 5: The transmitted wave can be found in regions II, III and IV.

three regions (II, III and IV) separately. In order to do so, we need to determine
the incoming and outgoing waves in each region.

11
4.1 Region I
The wave function in this region is given by
1   
I (x, y) = Ax eix + Bx eix Ay eiy + By eiy
px py
1 h i
= Ax Ay ei(x +y ) + Ay Bx ei(x +y ) + Ax By ei(x y ) + Bx By ei(x +y )
px py
= IT 1 + IT 2 + IT 3 + IR

where IT 1 , IT 2 , IT 3 and IR represents the four terms from the preceding line
in their respective order. The arrows represent the directions of propagation of

Figure 6: Schematic for scattering in region I.

the corresponding terms in the wave function. For instance, IT 1 , IT 2 and IT 3

are the incident waves (in addition to a portion of the reflected waves) which
propagate towards the barrier and IR is the purely reflected wave which moves
away from the barrier.

4.2 Region II
The wave function in region II is given by
1   
II (x, y) = Ax eix + Bx eix Fy eiy
px py
1  
= Ax Fy eix + Bx Fy eix eiy
px py

12
 T R
= II + II
T , R are defined in the same way as in the previous section.
where II II

Figure 7: Schematic for scattering in region II. Incoming waves are shown in red,
outgoing waves are shown in green.

Note that the incoming waves arrive from Region I only,

1  
inc (x, y) = IT 1 + IT 2 = Ax Ay eix + Ay Bx eix eiy
px py

The transmission co-efficient is then given by the following ratio,

 Ax Fy eix + Bx Fy eix 2  Fy 2
   
TI = 
  =  
Ax Ay eix + Ay Bx eix  Ay
 2
 Fy  e2y
=  i 1 = (28)
 
2
 ie 4 ( ey ei 4 ey ei 4 )Fy  y

4 ( e 4 1)2

4.3 Region III

The wave function in this region is given by
1   
III (x, y) = Fx eix Ay eiy + By eiy
px py
1  
= Fx Ay eiy + Fx By eiy eix
px py
T R
= III + III

13
 Figure 8: Schematic for scattering in region III.

T , R are defined in the same way as in the previous section. The

where III III
incoming wave from Region I is given by,
1  
inc (x, y) = IT 1 + IT 3 = Ax Ay eiy + Ax By eiy eix
px py

so that the transmission co-efficient is

 Fx Ay eiy + Fx By eiy 2  Fx 2
   
TI =   = 
Ax Ay eiy + Ax By eiy   Ax 
 2
 Fx  e2x
=  i 1 = (29)
 
2x
 ie 4 ( ex ei 4 ex ei 4 )Fx  ( e 4 1)2

4

4.4 Region IV
The wave function in this region is given by
Fx Fy i(x +y )
IV (x, y) = e
px py
T
= IV

This time, the incident waves enter from both region II and III. Observing that
the particle can enter from either region, the transmission-coefficient is simply
equal to the sum of the transmission co-efficients for regions II and III, i.e.
 2  2
 Fx   Fy  e2x e2y
TIV = TII + TIII =   +   = e2x + 2y (30)
Ax Ay ( 4 1)2 ( e 4 1)2

14
 Figure 9: Schematic for scattering in region IV.

5 2D Electron Gas in Uniform Magnetic Field

Let us now consider an electron confined to a rectangular plate of sides Lx and
Ly .

15
6 Conclusion
7 Appendix
References
[1] David J. Griffiths. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (2nd edition). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.

16