ERIC Number: EJ1196850
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Nov
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
A Simplified Pöschl-Teller Potential: An Instructive Exercise for Introductory Quantum Mechanics
Brown, Erin; de la Peña, Lisandro Hernández
Journal of Chemical Education, v95 n11 p1989-1995 Nov 2018
The quantum mechanics of a simplified Pöschl-Teller potential in one dimension is analyzed at an elementary level. The number of bound states of this potential is determined by a parameter "l" characterizing the depth of the potential energy. The resulting collection of potentials with varying depth, as well as their ground state energies, is found by requiring the ground state wave function to be the hyperbolic secant function raised to power "l". A step-by-step operator-based strategy for the construction of the eigenfunctions corresponding to all other bound states and their eigenenergies is discussed. We also show how all these results can be alternatively obtained by means of the Legendre differential equation, familiar from the rigid-rotor and hydrogen atom problems. The connection between all these problems is discussed while highlighting the use of this model for teaching introductory quantum mechanics.
Descriptors: Quantum Mechanics, Mechanics (Physics), Science Instruction, College Science, Graduate Study, Undergraduate Study, Scientific Concepts, Equations (Mathematics)
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A