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Application of Self-Adjoint Extensions to the Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Coulomb Problem

Beck, Scott J
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1465577450

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Physics.
The Coulomb problem was one of the first successful applications of quantum theory and is a staple topic in textbooks. However there is an ambiguity in the solution to the problem that is seldom discussed in either textbooks or the literature. The ambiguity arises in the boundary conditions that must be applied at the origin where the Coulomb potential is singular. The textbook boundary condition is generally not the only one that is permissible or the one that is most appropriate. Here we revisit the question of boundary conditions using the mathematical method of self-adjoint extensions in context of modern realizations of the Coulomb problem in electrons on helium, Rydberg atoms and graphene. We determine the family of allowed boundary conditions for the non-relativistic Schr\"{o}dinger equation in one and three dimensions and the relativistic Dirac equation in two dimensions. The boundary conditions are found to break the classical SO$(4)$ Runge-Lenz symmetry of the non-relativistic Coulomb problem in three dimensions and to break scale invariance for the two dimensional Dirac problem. The symmetry breaking is analogous to the anomaly phenomenon in quantum field theory. Electrons on helium have been extensively studied for their potential use in quantum computing and as a laboratory for condensed matter physics. The trapped electrons provide a realization of the one dimensional non-relativistic Coulomb problem. Using the method of self-adjoint extensions we are able to reproduce the observed energy levels of electrons on helium which are known to deviate from the textbook Balmer formula. We also study the connection between the method of self-adjoint extensions and an older theoretical model introduced by Cole. Rydberg atoms have potential applications to atomic clocks and precision atomic experiments. They are hydrogen-like in that they have a single highly excited electron that orbits a small positively charged core. We compare the observed spectrum of several species of Rydberg atoms to the predictions of the Coulomb model with self-adjoint extension and to the predictions of the more elaborate quantum defect model which is generally found to be more accurate. The motion of electrons on atomically flat sheets of graphene is governed by the massless Dirac equation. The effect of charged impurities on the electronic states of graphene has been studied using scanning probe microscopy. Here we use the method of self-adjoint extensions to analyze the scattering of electrons from the charged impurities; our results generalize prior theoretical work which considered only one of the family of possible boundary conditions.
Harsh Mathur (Committee Chair)
Walter Lambrecht (Committee Member)
Mark Meckes (Committee Member)
Andrew Tolley (Committee Member)
73 p.
Physics
Self-Adjoint,; Coulomb

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Beck, S. J. (2016). Application of Self-Adjoint Extensions to the Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Coulomb Problem [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1465577450

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Beck, Scott. Application of Self-Adjoint Extensions to the Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Coulomb Problem. 2016. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1465577450.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Beck, Scott. "Application of Self-Adjoint Extensions to the Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Coulomb Problem." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1465577450

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1465577450
574
© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.