Wigner–Weyl correspondence and semiclassical quantization in spherical coordinates

Abstract

The Wigner–Weyl quantum-to-classical correspondence rule is nonunique with respect to coordinate choice. This ambiguity can be exploited to improve the accuracy of semiclassical approximations. For instance, the well-known Langer modification was recently derived by applying a coordinate transformation to the radial Schrödinger equation prior to using the Wigner–Weyl rule—albeit only by presuming exact quantum solutions for all nonradial degrees of freedom [J. J. Morehead, J. Math. Phys. 36, 5431 (1995)]. In this paper, the full classical Hamiltonian is derived in all degrees of freedom, using a (hyper)spherical coordinate Wigner–Weyl correspondence with a Langer-like modification of polar angles. For central force Hamiltonians, the new result is radially equivalent to that of Langer, and to the standard Cartesian form. The new correspondence is superior with respect to all angular momentum operators however, in that the resultant semiclassical eigenvalues are exact—a desirable goal, evidently achieved here for the first time.