ISSN:
0020-7608
Keywords:
Computational Chemistry and Molecular Modeling
;
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
The widely cited definition of quantization in terms of square-integrable wave functions does not apply to continuum wave functions, to such phenomena as metastable states, or many-body resonances. A better philosophical foundation for quantum mechanics separates the probabilistic aspects based on square integrable Hilbert space functions from the dynamical aspects based upon the solutions of Shroedinger's (or Dirac's) equation. A Hilbert space may have a non-Hilbert space basis, which may be described by Stieltjes integrals and a spectrum measure. This viewpoint is expounded by reference to a very detailed analysis of a simple model, through which a precise definition of a Bohr-Feshbach resonance can be given. We propose a definition of a “metastable state,” showing that it is consistent with accepted usage, and that it overcomes a series of objections which have been catalogued by Simon. Its rate of decay is given by the Fourier-Stieltjes transform of the spectral density function; it is moreover the longest-lived initially localized state which can be formed from a small span of energy eigenfunctions near its mean energy.
Additional Material:
4 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qua.560280110
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