Session:
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Upper Division and Graduate Topics
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Paper Type:
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Contributed
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Title:
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Applying the Correspondence Principle to the Three-Dimensional Rigid Rotor
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Meeting:
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2014 Winter Meeting: Orlando, Florida |
Location:
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N/A |
Date:
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Time:
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11:00AM
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Author:
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David Keeports, Mills College
510-430-2162, dave@mills.edu
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Co-Author(s):
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None
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Abstract:
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According to the quantum mechanical correspondence principle, a quantum system can pass well as a classical system if the system's quantum numbers are very large. Application of the correspondence principle to some basic problems in quantum mechanics including the particle in a one-dimensional infinite well, the linear harmonic oscillator, and the two-dimensional rigid rotor is quite straightforward. However, the three-dimensional rigid rotor provides a greater challenge due to the complexity of the spherical harmonic functions that describe the rotor's angular orientation. I will explain why the seemingly classical rotation of a large rigid rotor in the xy-plane implies that quantum numbers J and MJ are equal and very large. Furthermore, I will demonstrate that the values of these quantum numbers imply a very simple spherical harmonic function that is consistent with the rotor's apparently classical behavior.
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Footnotes:
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None
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Presentation:
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Keeports W14.pdf
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