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Journal de Physique II

Semiclassical matrix-mechanics. II. Angular momentum operators

Richard M. More

Published Feb 1, 1991• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Semiclassical angular momentum matrices are calculated using a new contour-integral formula for matrix-elements. WKB spherical harmonic functions are found to be exaclty orthonormal with the contour-integral inner-product. Matrix-elements obtained from these wave-functions are accurate to about 2 % and the matrices obey the commutation relations expected of quantum angular momentum operators. The semiclassical wave-functions are related to a superposition of allowed classical orbits and this illustrates the connection to the Feynman pathsummation formulation of quantum mechanics for electrons in a spherically symmetric potential.

DOI
10.1051/jp2:1991150

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Semiclassical angular momentum matrices are calculated using a new contour-integral formula for matrix-elements. WKB spherical harmonic functions are found to be exaclty orthonormal with the contour-integral inner-product. Matrix-elements obtained from these wave-functions are accurate to about 2 % and the matrices obey the commutation relations expected of quantum angular momentum operators. The semiclassical wave-functions are related to a superposition of allowed classical orbits and this illustrates the connection to the Feynman pathsummation formulation of quantum mechanics for electrons in a spherically symmetric potential.
Matrices of dynamical variables of the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator are calculated by a new semiclassical method formulated by More and Warren. The results are semiclassical matrices Xn, m, Pn, m, etc., which i) exactly obey selection rules for zero matrix-elements, ii) are very accurate, circa 1 %, for nonzero matrix-elements, iii) which diagonalize the Hamiltonian H, and iv) which exactly satisfy the Heisenberg commutation relations and equations of motion. These statements are true for matrix-elements Fn, m with m ≽ n. The results show that most of the quantum physics is contained in the extended semiclassical theory.
Angular momentum theory provides a mathematical foundation for the rotation of the eigenvectors of the angular momentum operator, the spherical harmonics functions. A useful property of spherical harmonics is that their rotation in 3D space corresponds to rotation in the virtual space of their azimuthal degrees of freedom. In addition to that, spherical harmonics functions that have different orbital indices do not mix. Given that spherical harmonics functions have known rotation properties, and that any arbitrary function can be expanded in a series of spherical harmonics, this property allows the rotation of an electrostatic potential when it is expanded in the series of spherical harmonics. In this chapter, the exponential form of the rotation operator, the rotation matrix for a 3D rotation of the coordinate system, and the principles of rotation of vectors and functions are described. The chapter provides a detailed self-contained introduction to the theory of angular momentum, derives the commutative properties of the angular momentum operator, and explains shift operators, while minimizing references to quantum mechanics and entirely avoiding group theory.
The wave function for a state of definite angular momentum of the three-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator is expressed exactly in terms of the corresponding classical trajectories. In particular, the three-dimensional wave function as well as the radial wave function and the spherical harmonics are obtained as integrals over quantities determined entirely by the classical motion. The expression for the harmonic-oscillator radial wave function is shown also to yield the exact radial wave function for the free particle. The expressions are cast in forms suitable for use as uniform semiclassical approximations for wave functions of other systems. Numerical examples confirm that such wave functions obey boundary conditions appropriate for spherical coordinates and that they are free of caustic singularities. The wave functions obtained by this technique can be quite accurate even for low-energy states where semiclassical approximations are expected to be poor.
Abstract In this chapter we introduce the concept of orbital angular momentum into the mathematical language of quantum mechanics. We discuss the commutation relations of the corresponding operators and their roles as generators of rotations in the context of the theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras, focusing on the three-dimensional rotation group SO(3). We further examine how scalar and vector-valued operators transform under spatial rotations. We then turn to the derivation of the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the angular-momentum operators, for which we follow a dual approach in analogy to that employed for the harmonic oscillator in Chapter 5. Using both the algebraic ladder-operator method and an analytical method using spherical polar coordinates we discover the relevant azimuthal and magnetic quantum numbers and their relation to the spherical harmonics and the Legendre polynomials
The orbital angular momentum operator is defined and its commutation relations with the position and momentum operators, and generally with vector operators, are obtained; the relationship between the square of the momentum operator and the square of the orbital angular momentum is derived; the spectrum of the square and z-component of the orbital angular momentum is obtained by solving the Schröedinger equation near the origin; the radial equation is derived and the spherical harmonics are obtained as solutions of the associated Legendre equation.
The semiclassical formula for matrix elements, sometimes called the Heisenberg correspondence principle, relates matrix elements (operators in energy representation) to phase space functions (Weyl representatives). The formula does not make sense for arbitrary operators; when it is valid it implicitly fixes the relative phases of the eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian. The conventions, which have to be used for the wavefunctions in position or momentum representation, are given here in explicit form, and we present a class of operators related to coherent states of high energy for which the Heisenberg correspondence principle holds.