The Bicomplex Quantum Harmonic Oscillator

Abstract

The problem of the quantum harmonic oscillator is investigated in the framework of bicomplex numbers, which are pairs of complex numbers making up a commutative ring with zero divisors. Starting with the commutator of the bicomplex position and momentum operators, and adapting the algebraic treatment of the standard quantum harmonic oscillator, we find eigenvalues and eigenkets of the bicomplex harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian. We construct an infinite-dimensional bicomplex module from these eigenkets. Turning next to the differential equation approach, we obtain coordinate-basis eigenfunctions of the bicomplex harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian in terms of hyperbolic Hermite polynomials.