Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026

High-Resolution Neutron Spectroscopy to Study Picosecond-Nanosecond Dynamics of Proteins and Hydration Water
Published on: April 28, 2022
Reconstruction of the time-dependent wave function exclusively from position data
Timothy M Coffey1, Robert E Wyatt, Wm C Schieve
1Department of Physics and Center for Complex Quantum Systems, 1 University Station C1600, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. tcoffey@physics.utexas.edu
Abstract:
A method is presented that reconstructs the amplitude and phase of an unknown time-dependent pure-state wave function entirely from experimental position data. No assumptions about the wave function are needed. At a series of times, a large collection of position data is taken, but no measurements of momentum or energy are necessary. The momenta, however, are required for the reconstruction of the wave function and are supplied by analysis of the position data via quantum particle trajectories. Simulations of the method are provided for helium atoms in single and double slit experiments.
Related Concept Videos
Graphing the Wave Function
Equations of Wave Motion
Velocity and Acceleration of a Wave
The velocity of the particles can be obtained by taking the partial derivative of the position equation with respect to time. We can...
The de Broglie Wavelength
Reconstruction of Signal using Interpolation
The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom

