Exact and approximate solutions of Schrödinger’s equation with hyperbolic double-well potentials

Abstract

Analytic and approximate solutions for the energy eigenvalues generated by the hyperbolic potentials $V_m(x)=-U_0\sinh^{2m}(x/d)/\cosh^{2m+2}(x/d),\,m=0,1,2,\dots$ are constructed. A byproduct of this work is the construction of polynomial solutions for the confluent Heun equation along with necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of such solutions based on the evaluation of a three-term recurrence relation. Very accurate approximate solutions for the general problem with arbitrary potential parameters are found by use of the {\it asymptotic iteration method}.