03 March 2013 1 2K Report

The wavefunction of a quantum harmonic oscillator is well-known. For a crystal, say a 1d linear chain, the wave function of a phonon would be the same as the wave function for a quantum harmonic oscillator. However this time the wave function depends not on real, but on generalized coordinates. For a simple model - all masses and springs are identical, the generalized coordinates are rather simple functions of the real coordinates. Does the wave function in real coordinates "look good" or look somehow simple or natural, or how is it related to the classical sound waves which are naturally expressed in real coordinates?

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