3.II.16G
A particle of mass moves in two dimensions in an axisymmetric potential. Show that the time-independent Schrödinger equation can be separated in polar coordinates. Show that the angular part of the wave function has the form , where is the angular coordinate and is an integer. Suppose that the potential is zero for , where is the radial coordinate, and infinite otherwise. Show that the radial part of the wave function satisfies
where . What conditions must satisfy at and ?
Show that, when , the equation has the solution , where if is odd and
if is even
Deduce the coefficients and in terms of . By truncating the series expansion at order , estimate the smallest value of at which the is zero. Hence give an estimate of the ground state energy.
[You may use the fact that the Laplace operator is given in polar coordinates by the expression