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arXiv:2012.00559 · European Journal of Physics

The variational method applied to the harmonic oscillator in the presence of a delta function potential

Indrajit Ghose, Parongama Sen

Published Apr 16, 2021• 9 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract The problem of the harmonic oscillator with a centrally located delta function potential can be exactly solved in one dimension, where the eigenfunctions are expressed as superpositions of the Hermite polynomials or as confluent hypergeometric functions in general. The eigenfunctions obtained exactly are difficult to visualise and hence, to gain more insight, one can attempt to use model wave functions which are explicitly and simply expressed. Here, we apply the variational method to verify how closely one can approach the exact ground state eigenvalues using such trial wave functions. We obtain the estimates of the ground state energies, which are closer to the exact values in comparison to earlier approximate results for both the repulsive and attractive delta potentials.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6404/abf8c9

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Abstract The problem of the harmonic oscillator with a centrally located delta function potential can be exactly solved in one dimension, where the eigenfunctions are expressed as superpositions of the Hermite polynomials or as confluent hypergeometric functions in general. The eigenfunctions obtained exactly are difficult to visualise and hence, to gain more insight, one can attempt to use model wave functions which are explicitly and simply expressed. Here, we apply the variational method to verify how closely one can approach the exact ground state eigenvalues using such trial wave functions. We obtain the estimates of the ground state energies, which are closer to the exact values in comparison to earlier approximate results for both the repulsive and attractive delta potentials.
Variational calculations play an important role in quantum mechanics, particularly in determining the ground-state energy of physical systems. Didactic examples in which one can see how the exact energy and wave function are approached by using a family of trial functions are not very numerous. An example was given in a recent book [M. Moshinsky, The Harmonic Oscillator in Modern Physics: From Atoms to Quarks (Gordon and Breach, New York, 1969)] which discusses the ground state of the hydrogen atom using as trial wave function a linear combination of harmonic-oscillator states. In the present paper we carry out a similar analysis for the ground state of a particle of mass m in a three-dimensional square-well potential. We discuss not only the approach to the exact energy when we vary the frequency and the number of oscillator states but also analyze the overlap of the exact and variational wave functions and compare the exact and approximate form factors.
Abstract: In this work, the problem of the quantum harmonic oscillator with a delta-derivative potential λδ^' (x), where λ is a coupling constant, is solved using the Green’s function technique. A transcendental equation that governs the energy eigenvalues of the problems for each coupling constant is obtained. The eigenfunctions and their first derivative are proved to be discontinuous at the origin. The values of the discontinuity jumps are found to agree with the requirements of having a self-adjoint extension Hamiltonian. In the large coupling limit, the even energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for the quantum harmonic oscillator are annihilated, and only the odd parts survive. The dependence of the energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions on the sign of λ was made clear. A mapping between the sign of λ and the positions of the particle was used to explain the discontinuity of the solution. In the large-λ regime, an educated guess for the wave functions was proposed. The proposed solutions led to the correct energy eigenvalues and obeyed the required conditions to have a self-adjoint extension Hamiltonian.
In the study of the effects of finite boundaries on the magnetic properties of a solid, one encounters the problem of finding the energy eigenvalues of a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator located in a potential enclosure. Series expansion techniques are applied to solve this problem for a harmonic oscillator located at the center of an infinitely high potential well. An analytical expression for the energy eigenvalues is found as a function of the size potential enclosure L, the quantum state n, oscillator frequency ω, and the mass of the particle m. The first order approximation of this expression is given by E = Eosccoth(Eosc/Ebox) where Eosc = ℏ ω(n + 1/2) is the energy eigenvalues of an unbound harmonic oscillator and Ebox = (2m/ℏ2) (n + 1)2π2/L2 is the energy eigenvalues of a free particle in an infinitely high well. For the ground state this approximation is better than 1% for all values of L, ω, and m.
Trial wave function was used to calculate ground state energy to obtain a relatively accurate value.After adding potential δ to one-dimensional harmonic oscillator,the odd parity stationary states of the harmonic oscillator still held and the even parity stationary states were no longer correct. Therefore,the perturbation theory and variational method were used respectively to calculate the approximate even parity stationary states,and variational method was used to solve Schrodinger equation.Results show that the calculated approximate even parity stationary states match well with the desired value,especially in excited state,the relative error is less than×10-3,and all the approximate values of energy for all levels are higher than desired value,which prove that it is simple and feasible by using perturbation theory or variational method to calculate approximate even parity stationary states with δ potential added.
When applying the variational method, it is demonstrated that the systematic improvements in calculating the eigen‐energies of quantum mechanical systems can be achieved by careful study of the general features of the trial wave functions. Two sets of trial wave functions were used for the harmonic oscillator potential. In the first example, it is shown, even with a crude initial guess, that accurate results will be obtained by adjusting the wave function without introducing any additional variational parameters. Even though the second example requires more algebraic manipulation, it is shown that it converges to the exact result much faster. It is suggested that these calculations be incorporated in computer algebra software packages for the teaching of quantum mechanics.
Quantum mechanics is one of the branches of physics. In this mechanics, physical problems are solved by algebraic and analytic methods. By applying a simple procedure we can find the general solutions of Schrodinger’s time - independent wave equation of one dimensional quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator without making any approximation. In this paper, we will discuss the Eigenenergy values and Eigenfunctions of one of the most important physical models of quantum mechanics, namely the one-dimensional Quantum mechanical Harmonic Oscillator by modifying the Hermite differential equation.