Singular potentials in quantum mechanics and ambiguity in the self-adjoint Hamiltonian

DOI10.3842/SIGMA.2007.107MaRDI QIDQ2473513zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Tamás Fülöp

Publication date 27 February 2008

Published in SIGMA. Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/0708.0866, https://eudml.org/doc/45162, http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA/2007/107/

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zbMATH Keywords

boundary conditionquantum mechanicsself-adjointnesssingular potential

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Selfadjoint operator theory in quantum theory, including spectral analysis (81Q10)

Abstract: For a class of singular potentials, including the Coulomb potential (in three and less dimensions) and $V(x)=g/x^2$ with the coefficient $g$ in a certain range ($x$ being a space coordinate in one or more dimensions), the corresponding Schr"odinger operator is not automatically self-adjoint on its natural domain. Such operators admit more than one self-adjoint domain, and the spectrum and all physical consequences depend seriously on the self-adjoint version chosen. The article discusses how the self-adjoint domains can be identified in terms of a boundary condition for the asymptotic behaviour of the wave functions around the singularity, and what physical differences emerge for different self-adjoint versions of the Hamiltonian. The paper reviews and interprets known results, with the intention to provide a practical guide for all those interested in how to approach these ambiguous situations.

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