Variational Calculation for Bound States in an Electric-Dipole Field

Abstract
The quantum‐mechanical problem of an electron moving in the field of a permanent electric dipole has been investigated in an attempt to determine whether negative energy eigenvalues, i.e., bound states, exist for small dipole moments. When the expectation value of the Hamiltonian is minimized in a variational calculation and then set equal to zero, the solution of the resulting equation gives a value of the dipole moment which is sufficient to assure the existence of a bound state. Use of the trial wavefunction ψ=exp (—αrt) (C0Y00+C1Y10) shows that 1.65×10−18 esu·cm is sufficient.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: