PERC 2020 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Investigating student understanding of the stationary state wavefunction for a system of identical particles |
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| Abstract: | We discuss an investigation of student difficulties with concepts related to the many-particle stationary state wavefunction for a system of non-interacting fermions or bosons in cases in which the many-particle stationary state wavefunction can be written as the product of the spatial and spin parts. The investigation was carried out in advanced quantum mechanics courses by administering free-response and multiple-choice questions and conducting individual interviews with students. We find that students share many common difficulties related to these concepts. Many students struggled to write a many-particle stationary state wavefunction consistent with the symmetrization requirements for the system, i.e., a completely antisymmetric wavefunction for a system of fermions or a completely symmetric wavefunction for a system of bosons. We discuss the common difficulties pertaining to these concepts that can be used as a guide to develop research-validated learning tools. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
| Session Time: | Poster Session I |
| Poster Number: | 1.L3 |
| Contributed Paper Record: | Contributed Paper Information |
| Contributed Paper Download: | Download Contributed Paper |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Christof Keebaugh Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA 17603 |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Emily Marshman, Community College of Allegheny College Chandralekha Singh, University of Pittsburgh |
