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Cambridge University Press eBooks

The One-Dimensional Harmonic Oscillator

Ana Marı́a Cetto, Luis de la Peña

Published Dec 18, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Chapter 9 is devoted to a detailed study of the harmonic oscillator in one dimension. The time-dependent Schrödinger equation is used to construct the coherent oscillator packet with minimal dispersion, which provides an opportunity to appreciate the similarities and differences between the dynamics of the classical and quantum oscillators. In a second step, we study the stationary solutions of the oscillator, which represent one of the most important orthogonal sets of quantum eigenfunctions because of its many applications, properties, and relative simplicity. Further, the use of raising and lowering (or creation and annihilation) operators is shown to be a powerful way of dealing with both material and field oscillators in general. Finally, the problem of two coupled oscillators is used to generalize the Schrödinger equation to the case of more than one particle.

DOI
10.1017/9781009679633.010

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Chapter 9 is devoted to a detailed study of the harmonic oscillator in one dimension. The time-dependent Schrödinger equation is used to construct the coherent oscillator packet with minimal dispersion, which provides an opportunity to appreciate the similarities and differences between the dynamics of the classical and quantum oscillators. In a second step, we study the stationary solutions of the oscillator, which represent one of the most important orthogonal sets of quantum eigenfunctions because of its many applications, properties, and relative simplicity. Further, the use of raising and lowering (or creation and annihilation) operators is shown to be a powerful way of dealing with both material and field oscillators in general. Finally, the problem of two coupled oscillators is used to generalize the Schrödinger equation to the case of more than one particle.
Abstract We consider the time-independent Schrödinger equation for the harmonic oscillator potential and determine its bound states and energy levels in one spatial dimension using two approaches: the algebraic and the analytic method. Using the former, we introduce ladder operators: the annihilation and creation operators, as well as the occupation-number operator, and determine the ground state of the harmonic oscillator to be a Gaussian wave packet, while the latter method yields the general bound state solutions in terms of the Hermite polynomials. We further discuss the zero-point energy and uncertainty relation for the quantum harmonic oscillator and make a comparison to the classical harmonic oscillator. Finally, we examine the three-dimensional harmonic oscillator, which leads us to the description of systems with multiple degrees of freedom via the tensor product
Courses on undergraduate quantum mechanics usually focus on solutions of the Schrödinger equation for several simple one-dimensional examples. When the notion of a Hilbert space is introduced, only academic examples are used, such as the matrix representation of Dirac’s raising and lowering operators or the angular momentum operators. We introduce some of the same one-dimensional examples as matrix diagonalization problems, with a basis that consists of the infinite set of square well eigenfunctions. Undergraduate students are well equipped to handle such problems in familiar contexts. We pay special attention to the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator. This paper should equip students to obtain the low lying bound states of any one-dimensional short range potential.
Synopsis: At this point we are equipped to solve some simple but fundamental one-dimensional problems with the Schrödinger equation. After setting the stage with an introduction, four quantum mechanical problems are specified and solved. Along the way, we encounter important concepts such as parity in the case of the infinite well and harmonic oscillator problems, transmission and reflection coefficients in the case of the finite barrier, and energy bands and gaps in a model of conduction in solids. Raising and lowering ladder operators are introduced in the harmonic oscillator and square well cases. I conclude with some qualitative comments regarding expected types of solutions in one-dimensional problems.
The harmonic oscillator is a useful model for the interpretation of many physical phenomena. It is used as a first approximation to the vibration of molecules and crystal lattices and for the quantization of electromagnetic fields, among other applications. One can solve the time-independent Schrodinger equation for the harmonic oscillator in many different ways; operator methods give rise to recurrence relations and generating functions for the stationary states. The coordinate representation renders the coordinate operator diagonal. In this particular representation the eigenvectors of the harmonic oscillator are functions of the coordinate that are commonly expressed in terms of Hermite polynomials. The chapter shows that calculation with the eigenfunctions of the harmonic oscillator is remarkably simple in the realm of the Lie algebras. The application of the bosonic algebra in theoretical physics and chemistry is so vast that it is impossible even to give a reasonable summary. An important application of the bosonic algebra is the modeling of simple quantum-mechanical systems.
Synopsis: At this point we are equipped to solve some simple but fundamental one-dimensional problems with the Schrödinger equation. After setting the stage with an introduction, four quantum mechanical problems are specified and solved. Along the way, we encounter important concepts such as parity in the case of the infinite well and harmonic oscillator problems, transmission and reflection coefficients in the case of the finite barrier, and energy bands and gaps in a model of conduction in solids. Raising and lowering ladder operators are introduced in the harmonic oscillator and square well cases. I conclude with some qualitative comments regarding expected types of solutions in one-dimensional problems.