PX262 - C4c - continuous eigenvalues
- previous arguments assume that the eigenvalues of the operators have discrete values
- this is true for energy, but not for position and momentum
- taking approximation by discrete steps, but also the limit
, the eigenvalue equation becomes: where, is a continuous variable that labels individual steps (like the subscript ) - the equivalent wavefunction is:
- the probability of getting a result inside the range
in the vicinity of is:
- the orthonormality condition is:
- the general wavefunction can be written as a liner superposition of eigenfunctions as: