Does hamiltonian/energy eigenstate always exist?

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kokolovehuh
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Hi all,
This may seem silly but...do energy eigenstates always exist in terms of wave functions themselves? To me, it seems they do because they always contain quantized energies. How about any hypothetical non-normalizeable wave functions?

Thanks

O.
 
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Energy eigenstates do not exist for time-dependent Hamiltonians.
 
So you are implying all time-independent ones do? including the non-normalizable ones
 
The unnormalizable wave-functions exist mathematically, but are not physically realizable.
 
Matterwave said:
Energy eigenstates do not exist for time-dependent Hamiltonians.

A time dependent hamiltonian DOES have an eigenstructure. However a possible eigenstate is not a stationary state.
 
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. Towards the end of the first lecture for the Qiskit Global Summer School 2025, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Olivia Lanes (Global Lead, Content and Education IBM) stated... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/quantum-entanglement-is-a-kinematic-fact-not-a-dynamical-effect/ by @RUTA
If we release an electron around a positively charged sphere, the initial state of electron is a linear combination of Hydrogen-like states. According to quantum mechanics, evolution of time would not change this initial state because the potential is time independent. However, classically we expect the electron to collide with the sphere. So, it seems that the quantum and classics predict different behaviours!
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