Phase Waves in Finite Potentials: the Harmonic Oscillator and the Hydrogen Atom

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-27-2017

Publication Title

Journal of Progressive Research in Modern Physics and Chemistry

Abstract

de Broglie’s concept of particles as sources of phase is extended to the analysis of systems in which the potential is not constant. The treatment assumes that the phase information propagates as waves according to classical electrodynamics including reflection with phase changes from potential energy barriers. The energies and weighting functions in such cases are obtained by comparison of the phase of the accelerated particle relative to the phases of reflections from the change in potential. Application to the chemically interesting systems of the harmonic oscillator and hydrogen atom are considered using the time evolution of the relative phases of the reflected de Broglie phase waves, whereby the weighting functions are obtained from the distance dependence of the phase differences between the reflections and the source. This is accomplished conveniently by taking time derivatives of the relative de Broglie phases and considering the periodicity of the motion. Optimum trajectories are determined by minimization of the action 2i(mv2-r∂V/∂r)/ħγ which depends on the potential V and the velocity v. The treatment leads to the Newtonian force law for circular orbits and affords the same energies as derived using the Schrödinger equation.

Volume

2

Issue

2

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