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European Journal of Physics

The one dimensional Schrödinger equation: symmetries, solutions and Feynman propagators

José M. Cerveró, Pablo P Polo

Published Jun 16, 2016• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract A simple method to find the symmetries of the Schrödinger equation in one dimension with arbitrary potentials is presented. The method hereby used can be of interest to students in quantum mechanics at the undergraduate level. Several physical questions arising from this symmetry analysis are also discussed. Finally, some attention is paid to how the result leads to the explicit description of the exact propagators in the linear and quadratic case without using the more popular method of describing the classical action in the stationary phase approximation.

DOI
10.1088/0143-0807/37/5/055401

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•Jan 1, 2012•1 citation
Abstract A simple method to find the symmetries of the Schrödinger equation in one dimension with arbitrary potentials is presented. The method hereby used can be of interest to students in quantum mechanics at the undergraduate level. Several physical questions arising from this symmetry analysis are also discussed. Finally, some attention is paid to how the result leads to the explicit description of the exact propagators in the linear and quadratic case without using the more popular method of describing the classical action in the stationary phase approximation.
A consistent approach to the description of a stationary motion of a quantum particle in an arbitrary one-dimensional potential has been developed. It has been proved that the wave function of an infinite motion can be expressed accurate to up two arbitrary constants with the use of one particular solution to the system of first-order linear differential equations. It has been shown that many well-known methods, such as the integral equation method, the transfer matrix method, the embedding method, and the method of combination of scattering parameters, are based on a general property of the solutions to the Schrödinger equation. Within the proposed approach, the relation between these methods becomes more transparent and their description can be well within a unified context.
A new approach to the problem of description of the stationary motion of a quantum particle in the field of a one-dimensional arbitrary potential is developed. It is shown that the wave function of infinite motion, with the accuracy to two arbitrary constants, can be expressed by means of an arbitrary single solution for some set of linear differential equations of the first order. It is shown that one general property of the Schrödinger equation solutions lies in the basis of many known methods of the problem consideration, such as the method of integral equations, transfer-matrix method, imbedding method, and method of combination of scattering parameters. Within the framework of the proposed approach, the connection between the above-mentioned methods becomes more transparent.
This chapter solves the eigen-problems for a few simple one-dimensional systems to acquire experience in solving the Schrodinger eigen-equation. One-dimensional problems are physically interesting not only because they are simple, but also because a number of more complicated higher-dimensional problems can be reduced to the solutions of equations in one dimension. For a symmetric potential, an eigenfunction of the Schrödinger equation can be always chosen to have a definite parity. The probability density of the plane wave solution is a constant, independent of the spatial coordinate of the particle. The eigensolution of a particle in an infinite square well consists of an infinite number of discrete energy levels. In classical mechanics, a particle cannot penetrate a potential barrier whose height is higher than the energy of the particle.
The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator is one of the most important models in Quantum Mechanics. Analogous to the classical mass vibrating back and forth on a spring, the quantum oscillator system has attracted substantial attention over the years because of its importance in many advanced and difficult quantum problems. This dissertation deals with solving generalized models of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation which are called generalized quantum harmonic oscillators, and these are characterized by an arbitrary quadratic Hamiltonian of linear momentum and position operators. The primary challenge in this work is that most quantum models with timedependence are not solvable explicitly, yet this challenge became the driving motivation for this work. In this dissertation, the methods used to solve the time-dependent Schrodinger equation are the fundamental singularity (or Green's function) and the Fourier (eigenfunction expansion) methods. Certain Riccati- and Ermakov-type systems arise, and these systems are highlighted and investigated. The overall aims of this dissertation are to show that quadratic Hamiltonian systems are completely integrable systems, and to provide explicit approaches to solving the time-dependent SchrDodinger equation governed by an arbitrary quadratic Hamiltonian operator. The methods and results established in the dissertation are not yet well recognized in the literature, yet hold for high promise for further future research. Finally, the most recent results in the dissertation correspond to the harmonic oscillator group and its symmetries. A simple derivation of the maximum kinematical invariance groups of the free particle and quantum harmonic oscillator is constructed from the view point of the Riccati- and Ermakov-type systems, which shows an alternative to the traditional Lie Algebra approach. To conclude, a missing class of solutions of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for the simple harmonic oscillator in one dimension is constructed. Probability distributions of the particle linear position and momentum, are emphasized with Mathematica animations. The eigenfunctions qualitatively differ from the traditional standing waves of the one-dimensional Schrodinger equation. The physical relevance of these dynamic states is still questionable, and in order to investigate their physical meaning, animations could also be created for the squeezed coherent states. This will be addressed in future work.