Mean energy of a 3D (quantum) harmonic oscillator

In summary, the speaker is working on a project involving Path Integral Monte Carlo simulations for the 1D quantum harmonic oscillator. They are comparing their results to the analytic mean energy of the oscillator, given by the Hamiltonian. They use the trace to calculate the mean energy in terms of inverse temperature. Their next step is to expand the program to 3 dimensions and they are questioning whether the energy of the 3D quantum harmonic oscillator is simply the result from 1D times the degrees of freedom. They clarify that a single particle described as a 3D QHO has 3 degrees of freedom.
  • #1
HappyJazz
7
0
This is not really homework, just a project I'm toying with in my sparetime. I'm doing some Path Integral Monte Carlo simulations, for now just for the 1D quantum harmonic oscillator. Anyways, currently I compare my results to the analytic mean energy of a 1D quantum harmonic oscillator, given by the Hamiltonion

[tex]\hat H = \frac{{{\hbar ^2}}}{{2m}}\frac{{{\partial ^2}}}{{\partial {x^2}}} + \frac{1}{2}m{\omega ^2}{x^2}[/tex]

with the trace given as

[tex]\int\limits_{ - \infty }^\infty {\left\langle x \right|\exp \left( { - \beta \hat H} \right)\left| x \right\rangle } = \frac{{\exp \left( { - 0.5\beta \hbar \omega } \right)}}{{1 - \exp \left( { - 0.5\beta \hbar \omega } \right)}}[/tex].

Beta is representing inverse temperature. From the mean energy in terms of the trace we get

[tex]\left\langle H \right\rangle = - \frac{\partial }{{\partial \beta }}\ln \sum\limits_x {\left\langle x \right|\exp \left( { - \beta \hat H} \right)\left| x \right\rangle } [/tex],

which finally amounts to

[tex]\left\langle H \right\rangle = \frac{1}{2}\hbar \omega \coth \left( {\frac{1}{2}\beta \hbar \omega } \right)[/tex].

My next step is to expand my program to 3 dimensions. I know that the energy of the classical harmonic oscillator in 3D is simply the result from 1D times the degrees of freedom (3 translational, 2 rotational and 1 vibrational), but does this also hold for the Quantum version of the harmonic oscillator?

I.e. is

[tex]\left\langle {{H_{3D}}} \right\rangle = 3\hbar \omega \coth \left( {\frac{1}{2}\beta \hbar \omega } \right)[/tex]

true?

Thanks in advance!
 
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  • #2
Actually it should only have 3 degrees of freedom, I was thinking of a diatomic molecule. A single particle described as a 3D QHO got 3 degrees of freedom.
 

1. What is the concept of a 3D quantum harmonic oscillator?

A 3D quantum harmonic oscillator is a physical system that follows the laws of quantum mechanics and is described by a potential energy function that resembles a simple harmonic oscillator in three dimensions. It is a theoretical model that is often used to study the behavior of atoms, molecules, and other small particles.

2. How is the mean energy of a 3D quantum harmonic oscillator calculated?

The mean energy of a 3D quantum harmonic oscillator is calculated using the Schrödinger equation, which is a fundamental equation in quantum mechanics that describes the time evolution of a quantum system. The mean energy is determined by taking the expectation value of the Hamiltonian operator, which represents the total energy of the system.

3. What factors affect the mean energy of a 3D quantum harmonic oscillator?

The mean energy of a 3D quantum harmonic oscillator is affected by the principal quantum number, which determines the energy levels of the system, as well as the mass of the particle and the strength of the potential energy function. Other factors such as temperature and external forces can also influence the mean energy.

4. How does the mean energy of a 3D quantum harmonic oscillator relate to its ground state energy?

The ground state energy of a 3D quantum harmonic oscillator is the lowest possible energy that the system can have. The mean energy of the oscillator is always greater than or equal to the ground state energy, as the mean energy represents the average energy of the system over time. The ground state energy is a specific value, while the mean energy can vary.

5. What practical applications does the concept of a 3D quantum harmonic oscillator have?

The concept of a 3D quantum harmonic oscillator has many practical applications, particularly in the fields of quantum chemistry and solid-state physics. It is used to study the behavior of atoms and molecules, as well as the properties of materials such as semiconductors. Understanding the behavior of quantum harmonic oscillators is also important in the development of quantum technologies, such as quantum computing and quantum sensors.

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