In mathematical physics, a Pöschl–Teller potential, named after the physicists Herta Pöschl (credited as G. Pöschl) and
Edward Teller
Edward Teller ( hu, Teller Ede; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" (see the Teller–Ulam design), although he did not care fo ...
, is a special class of potentials for which the one-dimensional
Schrödinger equation
The Schrödinger equation is a linear partial differential equation that governs the wave function of a quantum-mechanical system. It is a key result in quantum mechanics, and its discovery was a significant landmark in the development of the ...
can be solved in terms of
special functions
Special functions are particular mathematical functions that have more or less established names and notations due to their importance in mathematical analysis, functional analysis, geometry, physics, or other applications.
The term is defined by ...
.
Definition
In its symmetric form is explicitly given by
:
and the solutions of the time-independent Schrödinger equation
:
with this potential can be found by virtue of the substitution
, which yields
:
.
Thus the solutions
are just the
Legendre functions
In physical science and mathematics, the Legendre functions , and associated Legendre functions , , and Legendre functions of the second kind, , are all solutions of Legendre's differential equation. The Legendre polynomials and the associated ...
with
, and
,
. Moreover, eigenvalues and scattering data can be explicitly computed. In the special case of integer
, the potential is reflectionless and such potentials also arise as the N-soliton solutions of the
Korteweg-de Vries equation.
The more general form of the potential is given by
:
Rosen–Morse potential
A related potential is given by introducing an additional term:
:
See also
*
Morse potential
The Morse potential, named after physicist Philip M. Morse, is a convenient
interatomic interaction model for the potential energy of a diatomic molecule. It is a better approximation for the vibrational structure of the molecule than the quant ...
*
Trigonometric Rosen–Morse potential
The trigonometric Rosen–Morse potential, named after the physicists Nathan Rosen and Philip M. Morse, is among the exactly solvable quantum mechanical potentials.
Definition
In dimensionless units and modulo additive constants, it is define ...
References list
External links
Eigenstates for Pöschl-Teller Potentials
Quantum mechanical potentials
Mathematical physics
Edward Teller
Quantum models
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