Probability amplitude
Complex number whose squared absolute value is a probability
Probability amplitude
In quantum mechanics, a probability amplitude is a complex number used for describing the behaviour of systems. The square modulus of this quantity at a point in space represents a probability density at that point. Probability amplitudes provide a relationship between the quantum state of a system and the results of observations of that system, a link that was first proposed by Max Born, in 1926. Interpretation of values of a wave function as the probability amplitude is a pillar of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. In fact, the properties of the space of wave functions were being used to make physical predictions (such as emissions from atoms being at certain discrete energies) before any physical interpretation of a particular function was offered. Born was awarded half of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics for this understanding, and the probability thus calculated is sometimes called the "Born probability". These probabilistic concepts, namely the probability density...
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