A generalized harmonic oscillator problem for a spin-1/2 fermion

Abstract

The exact bound-state wavefunctions and the corresponding energy equation are calculated for a new generalized harmonic oscillator problem describing a spin-1/2 fermion in 3+1-dimensions, involving scalar, vector, and tensor couplings acting simultaneously within a particular plane of motion. For the scalar and vector coupling, singular harmonic oscillator shapes are considered, such that the singular term is needed to allow analytical solutions for the wavefunctions while preserving binding under adequate conditions. For the tensor sector,the Dirac oscillator potential is employed, which adds another independent binding mechanism to the problem. The exact bound-state solutions are computed by specifically tuning coefficients for an appropriate pair of \textit{Ansätze} for the radial functions, which leads to wavefunctions in terms of generalized Laguerre polynomials. Although the energy equation cannot provide a general expression for the energy spectrum, specific constraints on the quantum numbers as simple functions of the external potential parameters can be derived for it, which determines the conditions for bound solutions to exist, and of what type: particle, antiparticle or both. It is shown that the results can be simply mapped to the spherically symmetric analogue problem, and this is used to show that the general result encompass several previous particular cases of spherically symmetric harmonic oscillator problems in the Dirac equation available in the literature.