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Continuous limit of the square well problem in quantum mechanics

Quantum Physics 2026-07-15 v1 Physics Education

Abstract

The free-particle and square-well potentials are two of the most emblematic problems in quantum mechanics, illustrating essential concepts such as matter waves, energy quantization, and bound states. It is therefore natural to consider how the free-particle solutions emerge from the square well as the width approaches infinity. In this work, we present a systematic procedure to demonstrate this transition by applying a Fourier transform to the wave equation.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.13872,
  title  = {Continuous limit of the square well problem in quantum mechanics},
  author = {Matheus D. Moro and Thiago T. Tsutsui and Antonio S. M. de Castro and Fabiano M. Andrade},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.13872},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

7 pages, 2 figures