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International Journal of Theoretical Physics

Phase-space Propagation of the Time-independent Schrödinger Equation for One-dimensional Rectangular Potential Systems

Ivan E. Solarte, Santiago Barreiro-Medina, Carlos A. Arango

Published Jul 22, 2025• 0 citations

Abstract

Abstract A thorough analysis of one-dimensional rectangular potential systems, encompassing both barriers and wells, is provided within the framework of the phase-space propagation method for the Time-Independent Schrödinger Equation (TISE). An initial value representation approach is adopted, involving an ensemble of initial conditions invariant under phase-space flow on the left side of the barrier or well. The system’s periodicity in the free-motion regions, coupled with the simplicity of the potential, facilitates the derivation of analytical expressions for the evolution of the phase-space state across the barrier or well and onto the right side. The transfer matrix method is employed to obtain explicit analytical expressions for the phase-space state of the one-dimensional barrier and its transmission coefficient. A similar approach is extended to the potential energy well, where transcendental equations for both bound and virtual (anti-bound) states are derived through a geometrical analysis of the phase-space flow of the TISE and the stable and unstable manifolds. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the transmission coefficient is conducted. It is shown that the energy curves for the nth bound state and the $$(n+2)$$ th virtual state tend toward the same asymptotic limit. This limit corresponds to the energy curve (or line) of the $$(n+1)$$ th resonance, offering deeper insights into the system’s energy spectrum and its behavior in the limit of infinite potential wells.

DOI: 10.1007/s10773-025-06064-9

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Abstract A thorough analysis of one-dimensional rectangular potential systems, encompassing both barriers and wells, is provided within the framework of the phase-space propagation method for the Time-Independent Schrödinger Equation (TISE). An initial value representation approach is adopted, involving an ensemble of initial conditions invariant under phase-space flow on the left side of the barrier or well. The system’s periodicity in the free-motion regions, coupled with the simplicity of the potential, facilitates the derivation of analytical expressions for the evolution of the phase-space state across the barrier or well and onto the right side. The transfer matrix method is employed to obtain explicit analytical expressions for the phase-space state of the one-dimensional barrier and its transmission coefficient. A similar approach is extended to the potential energy well, where transcendental equations for both bound and virtual (anti-bound) states are derived through a geometrical analysis of the phase-space flow of the TISE and the stable and unstable manifolds. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the transmission coefficient is conducted. It is shown that the energy curves for the nth bound state and the

(n+2)

th virtual state tend toward the same asymptotic limit. This limit corresponds to the energy curve (or line) of the

(n+1)

th resonance, offering deeper insights into the system’s energy spectrum and its behavior in the limit of infinite potential wells.

Abstract After revisiting the time-dependent Schrödinger equation and introducing the Hamiltonian operator, the time-independent Schrödinger equation (TISE) is obtained. Conditions on acceptable wavefunctions are then stated. The method for solution of the TISE is laid out, and the infinite potential well is solved as an example. A discussion of the physical interpretation of the solutions — as energy eigenstates in position space — follows. This provides an opportunity to introduce overall and relative phases, and to point out that the latter are responsible for time evolution. The TISE is then applied to the important problems of scattering from a step potential and tunneling through a rectangular potential barrier. Use of the TISE for such problems greatly simplifies calculations, but it can also instill misconceptions; both aspects are discussed.

A simple yet exact method of solving the Schrodinger equation across an arbitrary one-dimensional piecewise-linear potential is described. It is based on the analytical solution of the Schrodinger equation across a linear potential, where the solution can be expressed as a linear combination of the Airy functions. Proper boundary conditions are imposed at the interface between adjacent linear intervals of the potential, and a transfer-matrix procedure is utilized in the derivation. The quantum mechanical transmission coefficient across a potential barrier and eigenenergies of a potential well can also be easily calculated using this method.

A consistent scheme is proposed for quantizing the potential amplitude in the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation in the case of negative energies (lying in the discrete-spectrum domain). The properties of the eigenfunctions ϕ n ( x ) and eigenvalues α n corresponding to zero, small, and large absolute values of energy E < 0 are analyzed. Expansion in the set ϕ n ( x ) is used to develop a regular perturbation theory (for E < 0), and a general expression is found for the Green function associated with the time-independent Schrödinger equation. A similar method is used to solve several physical problems: the polarizability of a weakly bound quantum-mechanical system, the two-center problem, and the tunneling of slow particles through a potential barrier (or over a potential well). In particular, it is shown that the transmission coefficient for slow particles is anomalously large (on the order of unity) in the case of an attractive potential is characterized by certain critical values of well depth. The proposed approach is advantageous in that it does not require the use of continuum states.

In this paper, use is made of the tools of analytical mechanics and the concept of operators to obtain the time-independent and time-dependent Schrodinger wave equations for quantum mechanical systems. Derivations are embarked upon of expressions for reflection and transmission coefficients for a particle of mass m as well as of energy E moving under different potential set-ups across step functions, barriers and well functions. The tunneling effect is then discussed. The transmission probability equation obtained in this research has been observed to be more accurate than the transmission probability expression deduced by some researchers in 2014 for a tunneling barrier. This research work finds applications in nuclear magnetic resonance imaging systems, synchrotrons, gyrators, accelerators, and in electrodynamics.

Abstract We discuss the procedure of solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation via a separation ansatz that leads to the time-independent Schrödinger equation. The resulting equation is in the form of an eigenvalue problem for the Hamiltonian, whose solutions are the stationary states. We derive and discuss the bound states and corresponding energy levels for several one-dimensional potentials of interest, including the finite and infinite potential well, the Dirac-delta potential, and the square double-well modelling the spatial configuration of the ammonia molecule. We then turn to the scattered solutions and discuss reflection from and transmission through a finite potential barrier, thus encountering the tunnel effect, which we in turn formulate more generally using the Gamow factor. This leads us to the interesting phenomenon of tunnelling resonances

Two rectangular models described by the one-dimensional Schr\"odinger equation with sharply localized potentials are suggested. The potentials have a multilayer thin structure being composed from adjacent barriers and wells. Their peculiar tunneling properties are studied in considerable detail. Particularly, in the zero-range limit when the potentials are squeezed to a single point, sharp peaks with total transmission are observed at certain (positive and negative) quantized values of the potential strength constant forming infinite discrete sets. Beyond these sets, the barrier-well structures behave as a perfectly reflecting wall. The transcendental equations with respect to potential strengths, the solutions of which determine transmission (resonance) sets, are derived. In this regard, both the models are exactly solvable. The energy dependence of an incident particle is shown to reveal a resonance behavior, being completely different from that observed in a typical double-barrier structure.