On the nonlocality of the fractional Schrodinger equation

M. Jeng, S-L-Y Xu, Eli Hawkins, J. M. Schwarz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A number of papers over the past eight years have claimed to solve the fractional Schrodinger equation for systems ranging from the one-dimensional infinite square well to the Coulomb potential to one-dimensional scattering with a rectangular barrier. However, some of the claimed solutions ignore the fact that the fractional diffusion operator is inherently nonlocal, preventing the fractional Schrodinger equation from being solved in the usual piecewise fashion. We focus on the one-dimensional infinite square well and show that the purported ground state, which is based on a piecewise approach, is definitely not a solution of the fractional Schrodinger equation for the general fractional parameter a. On a more positive note, we present a solution to the fractional Schrodinger equation for the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator with alpha=1. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3430552]

Original languageEnglish
Article number062102
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Mathematical Physics
Volume51
Issue number6
Early online date2 Jun 2010
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2010

Keywords

  • Mathematical Physics;
  • diffusion;
  • harmonic oscillators;
  • Schrodinger equation;

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