Indian J Phys (December 2013) 87(12):1219–1223

DOI 10.1007/s12648-013-0368-3

ORIGINAL PAPER

Exact analytical versus numerical solutions of Schrödinger equation

for Hua plus modified Eckart potential
H Hassanabadi1*, B H Yazarloo1, A N Ikot2, N Salehi1 and S Zarrinkamr3
1
Department of Basic Sciences, Shahrood Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran
2
Theoretical Physics Group, Department of Physics, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria
3
Department of Basic Sciences, Gamrsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran

Received: 07 May 2013 / Accepted: 16 July 2013 / Published online: 30 July 2013

Abstract: In this paper, s-wave Schrödinger equation with Hua plus modified Eckart potential is investigated. The
eigenfunctions as well as energy eigenvalues are obtained in an exact analytical manner and compared with results
obtained from finite difference method. Some special cases of this potential are also studied.

Keywords: Schrödinger equation; Exact solution; Hua plus modified Eckart potential

PACS Nos.: 03.65.-w; 03.65.Fd; 03.65.Ge; 03.65.Db

1. Introduction potential. When V0 ¼ V2 ¼ V3 ¼ 0, we recover Hua poten-

During the past decade, solution of Schrödinger equation
with different potentials has received great attention [1–5].
Exact solutions of Schrödinger equation are only possible
for a few simple systems, such as hydrogen atom, harmonic
oscillator in 3D and some other types of potentials [6–8].
To obtain exact or approximate solutions of Schrödinger
equation, different analytical methods have been employed
such as quantization rules [2], Nikiforov-Uvarov (NU)
technique [9], super-symmetry quantum mechanics (SUS-
YQM) [10], series expansion [11], ansatz method [12] etc.
Among these various solvable potentials, we consider Hua
plus modified Eckart (HPME) potential which resembles
Eckart, Hua or Morse potentials in this study. HPME
potential possess the form
 2 " #
1  e2ar 4e2ar
VðrÞ ¼ V0 þ V1 þV2
1  qe2ar ð1  qe2ar Þ2
 
1 þ e2ar
þ V3 ð1Þ
1  qe2ar
where V0 ; V1 ; V2 ; V3 ; a and q are potential constants. In case
of V1 ¼ V2 ¼ V3 ¼ 0, HPME potential reduces to constant
*Corresponding author, E-mail: h.hasanabadi@shahroodut.ac.ir
tial [13], proposed by Hua as an intermolecular potential and
widely applied to molecular physics and quantum chemistry.
There are a few papers which discuss this interesting
potential. The bound state solutions of relativistic Klein–
Gordon equation with equal scalar and vector Hua potentials
have been investigated by Sun and Dong [14]. For V0 ¼
V1 ¼ 0 and q ¼ 1; this potential reduces to Eckart potential
[15]. The latter has been widely used in physics [16] and
chemical physics [17]. The bound state solution of Dirac
equation for Eckart potential is reported [18]. When V0 ¼
V2 ¼ V3 ¼ 0 and q ¼ 0; HPME potential changes into
Morse potential [19], it has successfully accounted for
molecular interactions, in particular, diatomic molecules.
For special case V0 ¼ V1 ¼ V3 ¼ 0 and q ¼ 1, HPME
potential reduces into modified Pöschl-Teller potential.
Main purpose of this present work is to obtain exact solution
of Schrödinger equation under HPME potential.
2. Theory
Schrödinger equation in three-dimensional space is defined
as
 2  l ð l þ 1Þ 
d 2 d 2m 
þ þ En;l  V ðr Þ  wn;l ðr Þ ¼ 0
dr 2 r dr h2 r2
0r1 ð2Þ

Ó 2013 IACS
1220 H Hassanabadi et al.

where l denotes angular momentum quantum number. To By considering the following parameters,
remove the first order derivative, we apply well-known sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 
transformation m V1 V3
n1 ¼ b1 þ b2 þ   En þ V0
2a2 h2 q2 q
Rn;l ðr Þ ¼ rwn;l ðr Þ ð3Þ sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
  ð11Þ
m V1 V3
and obtain n2 ¼ b1 þ b2    En þ V0
 2  2a2 h2 q2 q
d 2m  lðl þ 1Þ
n3 ¼ 1 þ 2b1
þ E n;l  VðrÞ  Rn;l ðr Þ ¼ 0 ð4Þ
dr 2 h2 r2
Equation (9) is simplified as follows
Substitution of the potential from Eq. (1) into Eq. (4)

gives d2 d
yð1  yÞ 2 þ ðn3  ð1 þ n1 þ n2 ÞyÞ  n1 n2
"  2 dy dy
d2 2m 2m 1  e2ar
þ ðE n  V 0 Þ  V 1  /n ðyÞ ¼ 0 ð12Þ
dr 2  h2 h2
 1  qe2ar
" #  !# The solutions of Eq. (12) are hypergeometric functions:
0 e2ar 1 þ e2ar
þ V2 þ V3 Rn ðr Þ ¼ 0; /n ðyÞ ¼ 2 F1 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 ; yÞ ð13Þ
ð1  qe2ar Þ2 1  qe2ar
ðV20 ¼ 4V2 Þ ð5Þ Using Eq. (13), we write down the wave functions of Eq.
(8) as
If we choose the transformation
Rn ð yÞ ¼ yb1 ð1  yÞb2 2 F1 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 ; yÞ ð14Þ
y ¼ qe2ar ð6Þ
Or more explicitly,
Equation (5) reduces to
 Rn ðr Þ ¼ qb1 e2b1 ar ð1  qe2ar Þb2 2 F1 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 ; qe2ar Þ
2
d d mðEn  V0 Þ 1  y
yð1  yÞ þ ð1  yÞ þ ð15Þ
dy2 dy h2
2a2  y
mV1 1 mV1 1 mV1 y In order to obtain a finite solution of Eq. (15), then n1 or
 2 2 þ 2 2  2 2 2 n2 must be a negative integer. Thus, we have
2a h yð1  yÞ qa  h ð1  yÞ 2a  h q ð1  yÞ
 sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 
mV20 1 mV3 1 mV3 m V1 V3
   Rn ð yÞ ¼ 0: ð7Þ b1 þ b2    En þ V0 ¼ n;
2qa2 h2 ð1  yÞ 2a2  h2 y 2qa2 
h2 2a2 h2 q2 q ð16Þ
Defining an ansatz for wave function of the form ðn ¼ 0; 1; 2; . . .Þ

Rn ð yÞ ¼ yb1 ð1  yÞb2 /n ðyÞ ð8Þ which determines the energy eigenvalues.

brings Eq. (7) to

d2 d 3. Numerical results by finite difference method

yð1  yÞ 2 þ ð1 þ 2b1  ð1 þ 2b1 þ 2b2 ÞyÞ
dy dy
  Among various numerical techniques, finite difference
mðEn  V0 Þ mV1 mV3
 b21 þ b22 þ 2b1 b2 þ  þ method possesses many attractive features. In the differ-
2a2 h2 2a2 h2 q2 2qa2 h2
ence scheme method [20–27] to solve Eq. (4), we
 /n ðyÞ ¼ 0 ð9Þ approximate second derivative by standard 3-point cen-
with tered difference formula

rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
m m
b21 ¼  2 2 ðEn  V0  V1  V3 Þ ) b1 ¼   2 2 ðEn  V0  V1  V3 Þ
2a 
h 2a h
0 sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 1
 2 0
 2 0
ð10Þ
mV1 1 mV 1 2mV 1 1 2mV
b22  b2 ¼ 2 2 1  þ 2
) b2 ¼ @1  1 þ 2 2 1  þ 2 2 2A
2a 
h q h2
2qa2  2 a h q a h q
Hua plus modified Eckart potential 1221

f ðx þ hÞ  2f ðxÞ þ f ðx  hÞ h2 4. Results and discussion

2
¼ f ð2Þ ðxÞ þ f 4 ð17Þ
h 12
2 2 In this section we investigated energy eigenvalues and
where h6 f 3 and 12
h 4
f are local truncation errors (LTE) since
corresponding eigenfunctions Hua, Eckart and modified
it is truncated from Taylor’s expansion. If we discretize
Pöschl-Teller potentials.
interval of integration by m mesh points, we have an m  m
matrix eigenvalue problem which can be diagonalized
numerically by available numerical library package like
LAPAK and ARPACK.
In Table 1, we have given some numerical results
for a ¼ 0:01;  h ¼ 1; q ¼ 0:09; m ¼ 1=2 V0 ¼ 2:5; V1 ¼
0:3; V20 ¼ 0:2; V3 ¼ 0:4 and compare our results with
Finite Difference method. Figures 1 and 2 show behavior
of energy of system versus V0 and V20 . Wave function of the
system for different states is represented in Fig. 3.

Table 1 The energy of the system for different states

jn; l ¼ 0i En;0 ðcalculationÞ En;0 ðnumericalÞ

j0; 0i 3.1024 3.1026

j1; 0i 3.1152 3.1157
j2; 0i 3.1270 3.1282
j3; 0i 3.13792 3.1398
j4; 0i 3.1478 3.1505
j5; 0i 3.15695 3.1611
j6; 0i 3.1651 3.1732
j7; 0i 3.1724 3.1873
j8; 0i 3.1788 3.2035
j9; 0i 3.1843 3.2218 Fig. 2 The energy of the system versus V20 for V0 ¼ 0:2; V1 ¼
4; V3 ¼ 0:2; m ¼ 12 ; q ¼ 0:09; a ¼ 0:1

Fig. 1 The energy of the system versus V0 for V1 ¼ 3; V20 ¼ Fig. 3 The wave function of the system for different states and V0 ¼
2; V3 ¼ 0:2; m ¼ 12 ; q ¼ 0:09; a ¼ 0:1 2; V1 ¼ 0:3; V20 ¼ 0:2; V3 ¼ 0:4; m ¼ 1=2; q ¼ 0:09; a ¼ 0:01
1222 H Hassanabadi et al.

4.1. Hua potential Rn ðr Þ ¼ qb1 e2b1 ar ð1  qe2ar Þb2 2 F1 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 ; qe2ar Þ

ð24Þ
By considering V0 ¼ V20 ¼ V3 ¼ 0; HPME potential chan-
ges into Hua potential, where
 2 rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1  e2ar m
VðrÞ ¼ V1 ð18Þ n1 ¼ b1 þ b2 þ  2 2 ðV3 þ En Þ
1  qe2ar 2a h
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Results of this interaction are consistent with Rydberg– m
n2 ¼ b1 þ b2   2 2 ðV3 þ En Þ
Klein–Rees and ab initio calculations in a considerable 2a h
range of intermolecular distance. Even in some cases, n3 ¼ 1 þ 2b1 ð25Þ
the results are superior to Morse potential at moderate and
with
high rotational and vibrational quantum numbers. From
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Eqs. (10) and (11), we obtain m
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi b1 ¼ ð V3  En Þ
m 2a2 h2
b1 ¼  2 2 ðEn  V1 Þ rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi!
2a  h 1 2mV 0
0 sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 1 b2 ¼ 1 þ 1 þ 2 22 ð26Þ
 ffi 2 a h
1@ 2mV1 1 2A
b2 ¼ 1þ 1þ 2 2 1 ð19Þ
2 a  h q and the corresponding eigenfunctions can be obtained as
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
and 1 m 1 2mV20
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 ffi þ 2
ð V 3  E n Þ þ 1 þ
m V1 2 2a2 h 2 a2 h2
n1 ¼ b1 þ b2 þ  En rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2a2  h2 q2 m
  2 2 ðV3 þ En Þ ¼ n; ðn ¼ 0; 1; 2; . . .Þ ð27Þ
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 ffi 2a h
m V1
n2 ¼ b1 þ b2   En 4.3. Modified Pöschl-Teller potential
2a2  h2 q2
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2m In case of V0 ¼ V1 ¼ V3 ¼ 0 and q ¼ 1, HPME potential
n3 ¼ 1 þ ð V1  E n Þ ð20Þ
h2
a2  reduces into modified Pöschl-Teller potential,
" #
Therefore, energy eigen values and corresponding eigen 4e2ar
functions have the form VðrÞ ¼ V2 ð28Þ
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð1  e2ar Þ2
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi  ffi
1 m 1 2mV1 1 2
þ  2 2 ðEn  V1 Þ þ 1þ 2 2 1 According to our result, wave function in this limit is
2 2a  h 2 a h q
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
  ffi Rn ðr Þ ¼ qb1 e2b1 ar ð1  qe2ar Þb2 2 F1 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 ; qe2ar Þ
m V1
 2 q2
 En ¼ n; ðn ¼ 0; 1; 2; . . .Þ ð21Þ ð29Þ
2a 2 h
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ffi where
m a  2m ðEn V1 Þr rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Rn ðr Þ ¼ q 2a2 h2 ðEn V1 Þ e a2 h2
 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi mEn
1 2mV1 1 2 b1 ¼  2 2
 ð1  qe2ar Þ2 1þ 1þ a2 h2 ð1qÞ 2 2a h
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi!
F1 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 ; qe2ar Þ ð22Þ b2 ¼
1
1þ 1þ 2 2
8mV2
ð30Þ
2 a h

4.2. Eckart potential and

rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1 1 8mV2 mEn
If we choose V0 ¼ V1 ¼ 0 and q ¼ 1, HPME potential n1 ¼ þ 1þ 2 2 þ2  2 2
turns into Eckart potential [26–29] 2 2 a h ! 2a h
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
" #   1 8mV2
4e2ar 1 þ e2ar n2 ¼ 1þ 1þ 2 2
VðrÞ ¼ V2 þ V3 ð23Þ 2 a h
ð1  e2ar Þ2 1  e2ar rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2mEn
The wave function of Eckart potential from Eq. (15), is n3 ¼ 1 þ  2 2 : ð31Þ
a h
Hua plus modified Eckart potential
And finally energy of this potential has the form
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi!!2
a2 h2 1 2mV 0
En ¼  nþ 1 þ 1 þ 2 22 ð32Þ
2m 2 a  h
In this case, if we choose V20 ¼ b; a ¼ 2a
1
; our results
are same as reported results [30], when we choose a ¼ 0.
Very recent applications and analytical techniques for
potential model of physics can be found in literature
[31, 32].
5. Conclusions
In this work, we have investigated non-relativistic problem
of Schrödinger equation subject to a HPME potential. We
have obtained exact energy eigenvalues equation and radial
wave functions in terms of hypergeometric function. For
further guide to interested readers, we have provided some
numerical data, which discuss energy spectrum versus
parameters of the problem. We see that our result is more
reliable as it gives complete agreement with numerical
Finite Difference method. Finally, by choosing appropriate
values for potential constants, we have investigated energy
eigenvalues and corresponding eigenfunctions for special
cases of HPME potential.
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