The quantum states for Hydrogen atom: spherical harmonics and the orbitals geometrical representation

Abstract

Our work utilizes the quantum model of the hydrogen atom which is based on the Schrödinger equation with Coulomb potential. Specifically, we concentrate on the angular components of the wave eigenfunctions derived from this model. We consider the quantum states with n ≤ 4. In order to visualize the orbital shapes of these states, we built in the spherical coordinates system their 3D geometric representations. Furthermore, we use the corresponding spherical harmonics, to calculate the θ nodal values that describe the configurations of these orbital states.