Classical limit of quantum mechanics. A paradoxical example

Abstract

In the context of the general problem of equivalence between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics in the macroscopic limit, we point out that, for the particular case of the one-dimensional Coulomb potential, the quantum-mechanical result in the classical limit, corresponding to a certain superposition of odd- and even-parity energy eigenfunctions, leads to inconsistency with classical mechanics. It is shown that the contradiction persists even if the singularity of the Coulomb potential is treated as the limiting case of a modified Coulomb potential in which the singularity has been smoothed out. The possible implication of this paradoxical finding is briefly discussed.