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Re: DiracDelta Integrals

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg9326] Re: DiracDelta Integrals
  • From: Paul Abbott <paul at physics.uwa.edu.au>
  • Date: Sat, 1 Nov 1997 03:33:16 -0500
  • Organization: University of Western Australia
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

Peter Jay Salzman wrote:

> just out of curiosity, i tried
> 
>    Integrate[ Exp[I k x], {x, -Infinity, Infinity}]
>
> and Mathematica said "the integral is 0 if Im[k]==0, otherwise, i give
> up".   so, thinking i was being slick, i loaded the
> Calculus`DiracDelta` package.
> 
> i tried the integral again, but Mathematica said the same thing.  then,
> knowing that this comes up all the time in fourier transforms, i loaded
> Calculus`FourierTransform`.  this time, when i entered the integral,
> Mathematica told me:  "hey, bubba.  that integral doesn't converge on
> the domain of integration".
> 
> surely, there MUST be a package that allows Mathematica to do this
> integral and give me 2 Pi DiracDelta[k].  what do i need to load to
> make Mathematica recognize this?

You are computing a Fourier Transform.  Hence 

In[1]:= <<Calculus`FourierTransform`
In[2]:= FourierTransform[1, x, k]
Out[2]= 2 Pi DiracDelta[k]
> 
> the reason why i'm asking is because i'm trying to do the integral
> 
>    Exp[-Abs[k]/c] Exp[I k x]  Exp[i p x/hbar], {x,-Infinity,Infinity},
> 
>               {k, -Infinity, Infinity}

In[3]:= FourierTransform[Exp[I p x/hbar], x, k] Out[3]=
	                     p
	2 Pi DiracDelta[k + ----]
	                    hbar

In[4]:= Integrate[Exp[-(Abs[k]/c)] 2 Pi DiracDelta[k + p/hbar], 
		{k, -Infinity, Infinity}]
Out[4]=
	             p
	        Abs[----]
	            hbar
	2 Exp[-(---------)] Pi
	            c

> by the way, are there any packages that allow bra-ket notation on
> Mathematica? 

Have a look at Notation Maker (the Notebook is NotationMaker.nb and is
available from the on-line help under Demos/Notebook Demos.  There is a
section there on notations for Bras, Kets and Operators in Quantum
Mechanics.

Cheers,
	Paul 

____________________________________________________________________ 
Paul Abbott                                   Phone: +61-8-9380-2734
Department of Physics                           Fax: +61-8-9380-1014
The University of Western Australia            Nedlands WA  6907       
mailto:paul at physics.uwa.edu.au  AUSTRALIA                            
http://www.pd.uwa.edu.au/~paul

            God IS a weakly left-handed dice player
____________________________________________________________________


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