We present two new limit relations that reduce the orthogonal pseudo-Jacobi polynomials directly to the Hermite polynomials with shifted and nonshifted arguments. The proofs of these limit relations are based on the method of mathematical induction. These limits open up the prospects for studying new exactly solvable harmonic oscillator models in homogeneous external fields in quantum mechanics in terms of pseudo-Jacobi polynomials. As an application of these limit relations, a model of a linear harmonic oscillator with a position-dependent mass in an external homogeneous gravitational field (a pseudo-Jacobi oscillator in an external field) is considered. The form of the generalized Hamiltonian for describing quantum mechanical systems with a position-dependent mass is presented.
This study presents a complete algebraic formulation of the quantum harmonic oscillator, demonstrating that the Hermite polynomials, H n ( x ) , emerge as the fundamental solution when the power-series method is applied to the Schrödinger equation. The physical requirement of square integrability enforces the truncation of the series, leading precisely to these polynomials, which constitute the polynomial part of the energy eigenfunctions, ψ n ( x )= N n H n ( αx ) e − α 2 x 2 /2 , where n is the quantum number. This quantum number directly determines the quantized energy levels through E n =ℏω( n+ 1 2 ) . The analysis based on creation and annihilation operators further reveals that the action of the creation operator on the ground state generates the excited states along with their corresponding Hermite functions. The orthogonality of these polynomials ensures the orthonormality of the complete set of eigenfunctions. Additionally, the geometric Berry phase emerges as a natural extension when the system undergoes adiabatic cyclic changes, revealing a deeper topological structure that complements the conventional algebraic and analytic descriptions. Therefore, Hermite polynomials encapsulate both the mathematical structure and the physical essence of quantization in this fundamental system.
Recently, Cariñena, et al. [Ann. Phys. 322, 434 (2007)] introduced a new family of orthogonal polynomials that appear in the wave functions of the quantum harmonic oscillator in two-dimensional constant curvature spaces. They are a generalization of the Hermite polynomials and will be called curved Hermite polynomials in the following. We show that these polynomials are naturally related to the relativistic Hermite polynomials introduced by Aldaya et al. [Phys. Lett. A 156, 381 (1991)], and thus are Jacobi polynomials. Moreover, we exhibit a natural bijection between the solutions of the quantum harmonic oscillator on negative curvature spaces and on positive curvature spaces. At last, we show a maximum entropy property for the ground states of these oscillators.