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College Physics

Algebraic solution of 3-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator

Yang Ya-tian

Published Jan 1, 2003• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

By using the boson operators which carry angular momentum of one unit the eigenfunctions of hamiltonian of 3-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator are constructed uniformly. The relation between algebraic solution and the solution obtained by solving differential equation directly are discussed. The method is simple and elegant. We have a unified expression for eigenstates here. The Lie algebra between the operators used are quite simple.

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By using the boson operators which carry angular momentum of one unit the eigenfunctions of hamiltonian of 3-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator are constructed uniformly. The relation between algebraic solution and the solution obtained by solving differential equation directly are discussed. The method is simple and elegant. We have a unified expression for eigenstates here. The Lie algebra between the operators used are quite simple.
A completely algebraic and representation-independent solution is presented of the simultaneous eigenvalue problem for H, L2, and L3, where H is the Hamiltonian operator for the three-dimensional, isotropic harmonic oscillator, and L is its angular momemtum vector. It is shown that H can be written in the form h/ω(2ν°ν+λ°⋅λ+3/2), where ν° and ν are raising and lowering (boson) operators for ν°ν, which has nonnegative integer eigenvalues k; and λ° and λ are raising and lowering operators for λ°⋅λ, which has nonnegative integer eigenvalues l, the total angular momentum quantum number. Thus the eigenvalues of H appear in the familiar form h/ω(2k+l+3/2), previously obtained only by working in the coordinating the operators ν° and λ° to a ’’vacuum’’ vector on which ν and λ vanish. The Lie algebra so(2,1) ⊕ so(3,2) is shown to be a spectrum-generating algebra for this problem. It is suggested that coherent angular momentum states can be defined for the oscillator, as the eigenvectors of the lowering operators ν and λ. A brief discussion is given of the classical counterparts of ν,ν°, λ, and λ°, in order to clarify their physical interpretation.
Two new closely related boson realizations of the Heisenberg–Weyl algebra are derived that are directly equivalent to the introduction of spherical coordinates for the isotropic three-dimensional harmonic oscillator. This provides another way to obtain matrix elements of all physical operators connecting angular-momentum eigenstates, which are represented here by simple products of boson operators acting on the vacuum. Two of these bosons carry the angular-momentum quantum numbers while the third is a novel ‘‘radial boson.’’ In this approach, one begins by finding the nonunitary Dyson and then the unitarized Holstein–Primakoff realizations for the spectrum-generating SU(1,1)×SO(3) algebra of the oscillator. The corresponding mappings of the Heisenberg–Weyl generators are then obtained from their tensor properties under SU(1,1)×SO(3). The Dyson map of the Heisenberg–Weyl generators is not uniquely determined in this way, but the Holstein–Primakoff map is nevertheless unique. The possibility exists for generalization to isotropic oscillators of higher dimension, which are of interest in connection with nuclear collective motion.
The harmonic oscillator is a useful model for the interpretation of many physical phenomena. It is used as a first approximation to the vibration of molecules and crystal lattices and for the quantization of electromagnetic fields, among other applications. One can solve the time-independent Schrodinger equation for the harmonic oscillator in many different ways; operator methods give rise to recurrence relations and generating functions for the stationary states. The coordinate representation renders the coordinate operator diagonal. In this particular representation the eigenvectors of the harmonic oscillator are functions of the coordinate that are commonly expressed in terms of Hermite polynomials. The chapter shows that calculation with the eigenfunctions of the harmonic oscillator is remarkably simple in the realm of the Lie algebras. The application of the bosonic algebra in theoretical physics and chemistry is so vast that it is impossible even to give a reasonable summary. An important application of the bosonic algebra is the modeling of simple quantum-mechanical systems.
In this paper, we solve the rigorous solutions of the stationary Schrödinger equations for the harmonic oscillator within the framework of the quantum phase-space representation established by Torres-Vega and Frederick. We obtain the phase-space eigenfunctions of the three-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator in rectangular and spherical coordinate systems, and discuss the relationship between the eigenfunctions of the two coordinate systems. We also extend the "Fourier-like" projection transformations of the phase-space wave function to three-dimensional systems, and obtain the eigenfunctions in position and momentum representation through the transformations of the eigenfunction in the phase-space representation.
The factorization of four vector operators, D±(ω) and D±(−ω), which occur in a representation-independent, spectrum-generating algebra for the three-dimensional, isotropic harmonic oscillator in an angular momentum basis, is considered (ω is the angular frequency of the oscillator). The D±(ω) are quantum-mechanical analogs of the classical vectors (1∓iL̂×)Fc (ω), where Fc(ω)=−Mωr×L+pL is constant in a frame rotating with angular velocity ωL̂. It is shown that these four vector operators can be factorized in two different ways to yield operators that, apart from their dependence on a constant of the motion (L2), are linear in either p or r. In this way 20 abstract operators are obtained. The properties of these operators are discussed: (i) Twelve are ladder operators for the quantum numbers l, and l and m, in the eigenkets ‖lm〉 of L2 and Lz. In linearized, differential form six of these operators are ladder operators for the spherical harmonics in the coordinate representation, while the other six are the corresponding operators in the momentum representation. (ii) The remaining eight operators factorize linear combinations of the Hamiltonian and the dimension operator. In linearized, differential form four of these operators are ladder operators for energy and angular momentum in the radial part of the coordinate-space wave functions, while the other four are the corresponding operators in the momentum representation.