Hydrogen atom in phase space: The Kirkwood-Rihaczek representation

Abstract

We present a phase-space representation of the hydrogen atom using the Kirkwood-Rikaczek distribution function. This distribution allows us to obtain analytical results, which is unique because an exact analytical form of the Wigner functions corresponding to the atom states is not known. We show how the Kirkwood-Rihaczek distribution reflects the properties of the hydrogen atom wave functions in the position and momentum representations.