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Foundations of Physics

A Non-relativistic Approach to Relativistic Quantum Mechanics: The Case of the Harmonic Oscillator

Luis A. Poveda, Luis Grave de Peralta, Jacob Pittman, Bill Poirier

Published Feb 1, 2022• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract A recently proposed approach to relativistic quantum mechanics (Grave de Peralta, Poveda, Poirier in Eur J Phys 42:055404, 2021) is applied to the problem of a particle in a quadratic potential. The methods, both exact and approximate, allow one to obtain eigenstate energy levels and wavefunctions, using conventional numerical eigensolvers applied to Schrödinger-like equations. Results are obtained over a nine-order-of-magnitude variation of system parameters, ranging from the non-relativistic to the ultrarelativistic limits. Various trends are analyzed and discussed—some of which might have been easily predicted, others which may be a bit more surprising.

DOI
10.1007/s10701-022-00541-5

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Abstract A recently proposed approach to relativistic quantum mechanics (Grave de Peralta, Poveda, Poirier in Eur J Phys 42:055404, 2021) is applied to the problem of a particle in a quadratic potential. The methods, both exact and approximate, allow one to obtain eigenstate energy levels and wavefunctions, using conventional numerical eigensolvers applied to Schrödinger-like equations. Results are obtained over a nine-order-of-magnitude variation of system parameters, ranging from the non-relativistic to the ultrarelativistic limits. Various trends are analyzed and discussed—some of which might have been easily predicted, others which may be a bit more surprising.
Quantum relativistic solutions for a particle in a one-dimensional Morse potential are presented using methods previously proposed and applied to a particle in a harmonic oscillator. The methods lead to both numerical and analytical solutions, with the latter allowing smooth variation of the system parameters from non-relativistic to ultrarelativistic limits. Analytical expressions for the energy levels and wavefunctions are obtained, as solutions to a Schrödinger-type equation, including relativistic effects through a state dependent rescaled mass. The eigenstates of the Morse potential exhibit suitable and smooth behavior, and approach the corresponding harmonic oscillator solutions as the depth of the Morse potential well increases, as expected. A comparison is also presented between the relativistic harmonic oscillator obtained with this method, and the so-called Klein-Gordon oscillator.
We apply the method of State-dependent Diagonalization to study the eigenstates of the relativistic quantum harmonic oscillator in the low relativistic limit. The relativistic corrections of the energy eigenvalues of the quantum harmonic oscillator are evaluated for different values of the relativistic parameter α ≡ ħω0 / m0c2. Unlike the conventional exact diagonalization, this new method is shown to be very efficient for evaluating the energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. We have also found that for non-zero α the eigenfunctions of the system become more localized in space and that the ground state of the SHO (i.e., the α = 0 case) turns into a squeezed state. Furthermore, since our system is a special case of the quantum harmonic oscillator with a velocity-dependent anharmonic potential, this new approach should be very useful for investigating the cases with more complicated velocity-dependent anharmonic potentials.
The Klein Gordon equation for the harmonic oscillator may be written as (E-.5kx2)2=p2+mo2 ((1)) where mo is the rest mass and p the relativistic momentum. In the literature, it is argued that the resulting x4 term dominates for large x and prevents the Klein Gordon equation from being solved for bound states. As a result, it is replaced with an equation of the form: (E2-mo2) = (p-imwx)(p+imw) ((2)) where p=-ihbar d/dx in one dimension which may be solved exactly. Recently, the authors of (1) have used perturbation theory to calculate energy changes to ((1)) by using -.5V2 - e2 +2eV as a perturbative potential where V=.5kx2 and E=e+mo. They utilise the unperturbed wavefunction exp(-ax2) so large x4 values are damped. Their results are close to the exact calculations of ((2)) for the case of k=1 and m=1. In this note, we argue that for an oscillator there are classical turning points at which the quantum average kinetic energy -1/2m d/dx d/dx W should be zero and small nearby even if the average kinetic energy near x=0 corresponds to relativistic momenta. Thus, it is argued there are different spatial regions, each with its own quantum equation. The Schrodinger equation may be applied to regions near the classical turning point moving to infinite. In such a case, there is no issue with an x4 term. Near x=0, the full Klein Gordon equation ((1)) may be applied. There are questions of then matching the two sets of solutions. In this note, we attempt to investigate this scenario and compare results with those of (1) and (2). (1) and (2) suggest similar relativistic corrections to the nonrelativistic ground state oscillator energy of more than 20%. In this note, we suggest a smaller value.
This book develops and simplifies the concept of quantum mechanics based on the postulates of quantum mechanics. The text discusses the technique of disentangling the exponential of a sum of operators, closed under the operation of commutation, as the product of exponentials to simplify calculations of harmonic oscillator and angular momentum. Based on its singularity structure, the Schrödinger equation for various continuous potentials is solved in terms of the hypergeometric or the confluent hypergeometric functions. The forms of the potentials for which the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation is exactly solvable are derived in detail. The problem of identifying the states of two-level systems which have no classical analogy is addressed by going beyond Bell-like inequalities and separability. The measures of quantumness of mutual information in two two-level systems is also covered in detail.
We show that the first order form of the Schrodinger equation proposed in [1] can be obtained from the Dirac equation in the non-relativistic limit. We also show that the Pauli Hamiltonian is obtained from this equation by requiring local gauge invariance. In addition, we study the problem of a spin up particle incident on a finite potential barrier and show that the known quantum mechanical results are obtained. Finally, we consider the symmetric potential well and show that the quantum mechanical expression for the quantized energy levels of a particle is obtained with periodic boundary conditions. Based on these conclusions, we propose that the equation introduced in [1] is the non-relativistic limit of the Dirac equation and more appropriately describes spin 1/2 particles in the non-relativistic limit.