Phys. Rev. B 51 (1995) pp. 7318-7321

The embedding method for confined quantum systems

S. Crampin

Cavendish Laboratory, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, United Kingdom

M. Nekovee and J.E. Inglesfield

Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld, NL-6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Abstract
We discuss the application of the embedding method to the problem of finding the eigenstates of confined quantum systems. Embedding is a general way of tackling boundary condition problems, giving a true variational principle, and we apply it to the confinement problem by embedding within an isotropic medium with a very large potential. Corrections for incomplete confinement are described. The method is tested on examples recently studied by Brownstein [Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1427 (1993)], namely an electron in two dimensions confined within the quadrant of a circle, and a H atom off centre in a spherical cavity.

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