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American Journal of Physics

Revisiting Sommerfeld's atomic model using Euler–Lagrange dynamics

Wilder R. Cardoso, Mariana C. Nakagaki

Published Oct 23, 2024• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to present the atomic model proposed by Sommerfeld. We outline the classical calculation of the elliptical orbit and then apply the Wilson–Sommerfeld quantization rules to obtain expressions for the quantization of energy and orbit semi-axes. We then apply the relativistic theory to solve the problem of degenerate orbits. Thus, we see that the Sommerfeld atom is a very rich topic, involving the integration of different subjects ranging from Lagrangian mechanics to relativity, as well as plane geometry and differential equations.

DOI
10.1119/5.0219344

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The purpose of this work is to present the atomic model proposed by Sommerfeld. We outline the classical calculation of the elliptical orbit and then apply the Wilson–Sommerfeld quantization rules to obtain expressions for the quantization of energy and orbit semi-axes. We then apply the relativistic theory to solve the problem of degenerate orbits. Thus, we see that the Sommerfeld atom is a very rich topic, involving the integration of different subjects ranging from Lagrangian mechanics to relativity, as well as plane geometry and differential equations.
Based on the basic coulomb field conservation situation,elliptic equation and quantization rules,a detail derivation process of computation of Sommerfeld's elliptical orbit of stationary state was given.Three equations of physical quantities and ellipse geometry parameters were concisely derived from three conservation situations with the aid of elliptic equation.Making up a new physical quantity,the relationship between the total energy and the equally kinetic of a cycle was given.Using two quantization rules on this base,a derivation on elliptic orbit and energy level of hydrogen-like atom was presented.
Niels Bohr’s model of the hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms, in which the electron is allowed to revolve in certain circular orbits around the nucleus, was extended by Arnold Sommerfeld to allow for the possibility of elliptical orbits. Each elliptical orbit was constrained by two quantization conditions specified by a positive integer nφ and a non-negative integer nr. If, in the presence of the attractive Coulomb force between the electron and the nucleus, the dynamics of the atom were taken to be governed by the Newtonian laws of motion, the energy Ɛ of the two-particle system was found to be a function of the positive integer n = nr + nφ. The atomic energy levels thus exhibited an n-fold degeneracy, which would be lifted in the presence of external electric or magnetic fields, thus accounting for the fine-structure of the spectral lines emitted by the atom—phenomena observed, respectively, in the Stark effect and the Zeeman effect. Sommerfeld also examined the behavior of his elliptical orbits by allowing the revolving electron to obey Einstein’s relativistic dynamics. In this case, the energy-level degeneracies were lifted (even in the absence of external perturbations), and the elliptical orbits were found to precess around the nucleus—similarly to the precession of, say, the orbit of the planet Mercury around the Sun. What is astonishing about Sommerfeld’s relativistic expression of the energy Ɛ as a function of nφ and nr is that it is precisely the same expression as obtained for hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms from Dirac’s equation, which came more than a decade later. Recall that the spin of the electron was not yet discovered when Sommerfeld developed his model, and that in Dirac’s fully-relativistic quantum mechanics, the spectral fine-structure arises from the coupling of the electron’s spin to its orbital motion. The present paper provides a streamlined yet detailed account of Sommerfeld’s elliptical orbits in hopes of bringing about a deeper appreciation for the miraculous coincidence of Sommerfeld’s result with that derived from Dirac’s equation.
We review Bohr's atomic model and its extension by Sommerfeld from a mathematical perspective of wave mechanics.The derivation of quantization rules and energy levels is revisited using semiclassical methods.Sommerfeld-type integrals are evaluated by elementary techniques, and connections with the Schr odinger and Dirac equations are established.Historical developments and key transitions from classical to quantum theory are discussed to clarify the structure and significance of the old quantum mechanics.
The energy levels of hydrogen-like atoms are obtained from the phase-space quantization, one of the pillars of the old quantum theory, by three different methods - (i) direct integration, (ii) Sommerfeld's original method, and (iii) complex integration. The difficulties come from the imposition of elliptical orbits to the electron, resulting in a variable radial component of the linear momentum. Details of the calculation, which constitute a recurrent gap in textbooks that deal with phase-space quantization, are shown in depth in an accessible fashion for students of introductory quantum mechanics courses.