Analytic time-dependent solutions of the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation

Abstract

We show that one can obtain analytic solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation that are more complex than the well-known oscillating coherent wave packet. Such Hermite-Gaussian or initially square wave packets exist for a free particle or for one subject to the harmonic oscillator potential. In either case, the Hermite-Gaussian packets retain their nodal structure even after long times. There is a single class of exact solutions for the system with oscillator constant K > 0, K = 0, or K < 0, leading to wave functions for the harmonic oscillator, the free particle, and the inverted oscillator, respectively.