Bound State Wave Functions through the Quantum Hamilton - Jacobi Formalism

The bound state wave functions for a wide class of exactly solvable potentials are found utilizing the quantum Hamilton-Jacobi formalism. It is shown that, exploiting the singularity structure of the quantum momentum function, until now used only for obtaining the bound state energies, one can straightforwardly find both the eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenfunctions. After demonstrating the working of this approach through a number of solvable examples, we consider Hamiltonians, which exhibit broken and unbroken phases of supersymmetry. The natural emergence of the eigenspectra and the wave functions, in both the unbroken and the algebraically non-trivial broken phase, demonstrates the utility of this formalism.Comment: replaced with the journal versio

Scattering Wave Functions at Bound State Poles

The normalisation relation between the bound and scattering S-state wave functions, extrapolated to the bound state pole, is derived from the Schroedinger equation. It is shown that, unlike previous work, the result does not depend on the details of the potential through the corresponding Jost function but is given uniquely in terms of the binding energy. The generalisations to higher partial waves and one-dimensional scattering are given.Comment: 15 pages Latex. No graph

Sufficiency Criterion for the Validity of the Adiabatic Approximation

We examine the quantitative condition which has been widely used as a criterion for the adiabatic approximation but was recently found insufficient. Our results indicate that the usual quantitative condition is sufficient for a special class of quantum mechanical systems. For general systems, it may not be sufficient, but it along with additional conditions is sufficient. The usual quantitative condition and the additional conditions constitute a general criterion for the validity of the adiabatic approximation, which is applicable to all $N-$dimensional quantum systems. Moreover, we illustrate the use of the general quantitative criterion in some physical models.Comment: 9 pages, no figure,appearing in PRL98(2007)15040

Quantum mechanical Carnot engine

A cyclic thermodynamic heat engine runs most efficiently if it is reversible. Carnot constructed such a reversible heat engine by combining adiabatic and isothermal processes for a system containing an ideal gas. Here, we present an example of a cyclic engine based on a single quantum-mechanical particle confined to a potential well. The efficiency of this engine is shown to equal the Carnot efficiency because quantum dynamics is reversible. The quantum heat engine has a cycle consisting of adiabatic and isothermal quantum processes that are close analogues of the corresponding classical processes.Comment: 10 page

Equivalence Theorems for Pseudoscalar Coupling

By a unitary transformation a rigorous equivalence theorem is established for the pseudoscalar coupling of pseudoscalar mesons (neutral and charged) to a second-quantized nucleon field. By the transformation the linear pseudoscalar coupling is eliminated in favor of a nonlinear pseudovector coupling term together with other terms. Among these is a term corresponding to a variation of the effective rest mass of the nucleons with position through its dependence on the meson potentials. The question of the connection of the nonlinear pseudovector coupling with heuristic proposals that such a coupling may account for the saturation of nuclear forces and the independence of single nucleon motions in nuclei is briefly discussed. The new representation of the Hamiltonian may have particular value in constructing a strong coupling theory of pseudoscalar coupled meson fields. Some theorems on a class of unitary transformations of which the present transformation is an example are stated and proved in an appendix.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86126/1/PhysRev.87.1061-RKO.pd

Perturbative and non-perturbative studies with the delta function potential

We show that the delta function potential can be exploited along with perturbation theory to yield the result of certain infinite series. The idea is that any exactly soluble potential if coupled with a delta function potential remains exactly soluble. We use the strength of the delta function as an expansion parameter and express the second-order energy shift as an infinite sum in perturbation theory. The analytical solution is used to determine the second-order energy shift and hence the sum of an infinite series. By an appropriate choice of the unperturbed system, we can show the importance of the continuum in the energy shift of bound states.Comment: 19 pages, 2 table

Critical view of WKB decay widths

A detailed comparison of the expressions for the decay widths obtained within the semiclassical WKB approximation using different approaches to the tunneling problem is performed. The differences between the available improved formulae for tunneling near the top and the bottom of the barrier are investigated. Though the simple WKB method gives the right order of magnitude of the decay widths, a small number of parameters are often fitted. The need to perform the fitting procedure remaining consistently within the WKB framework is emphasized in the context of the fission model based calculations. Calculations for the decay widths of some recently found super heavy nuclei using microscopic alpha-nucleus potentials are presented to demonstrate the importance of a consistent WKB calculation. The half-lives are found to be sensitive to the density dependence of the nucleon-nucleon interaction and the implementation of the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition inherent in the WKB approach.Comment: 18 pages, Late

Graduate Quantum Mechanics Reform

We address four main areas in which graduate quantum mechanics education can be improved: course content, textbook, teaching methods, and assessment tools. We report on a three year longitudinal study at the Colorado School of Mines using innovations in all these areas. In particular, we have modified the content of the course to reflect progress in the field in the last 50 years, used textbooks that include such content, incorporated a variety of teaching techniques based on physics education research, and used a variety of assessment tools to study the effectiveness of these reforms. We present a new assessment tool, the Graduate Quantum Mechanics Conceptual Survey, and further testing of a previously developed assessment tool, the Quantum Mechanics Conceptual Survey. We find that graduate students respond well to research-based techniques that have been tested mainly in introductory courses, and that they learn much of the new content introduced in each version of the course. We also find that students' ability to answer conceptual questions about graduate quantum mechanics is highly correlated with their ability to solve calculational problems on the same topics. In contrast, we find that students' understanding of basic undergraduate quantum mechanics concepts at the modern physics level is not improved by instruction at the graduate level.Comment: accepted to American Journal of Physic

Photodissociation of p-process nuclei studied by bremsstrahlung induced activation

A research program has been started to study experimentally the near-threshold photodissociation of nuclides in the chain of cosmic heavy element production with bremsstrahlung from the ELBE accelerator. An important prerequisite for such studies is good knowledge of the bremsstrahlung distribution which was determined by measuring the photodissociation of the deuteron and by comparison with model calculations. First data were obtained for the astrophysically important target nucleus 92-Mo by observing the radioactive decay of the nuclides produced by bremsstrahlung irradiation at end-point energies between 11.8 MeV and 14.0 MeV. The results are compared to recent statistical model calculations.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, Proceedings Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics II, May 16-20, 2005, Debrecen, Hungary. The original publication is available at www.eurphysj.or

Three manifestations of the pulsed harmonic potential

We consider, in turn, three systems being acted upon by a regularly pulsed harmonic potential (PHP). These are i) a classical particle, ii) a quantum particle, and iii) a directed line. We contrast the mechanics of the first two systems by parameterizing their bands of stability and periodicity. Interesting differences due to quantum fluctuations are examined in detail. The fluctuations of the directed line are calculated in the two cases of a binding PHP, and an unbinding PHP. In the latter case there is a finite maximum line length for a given potential strength.Comment: 34 Revtex pages, with 5 attached figure