Frequencies and energy levels of the weakly relativistic harmonic oscillator from the action variable

Abstract

The frequency of a classical periodic system and the energy levels of the corresponding quantum system can both be obtained using action variables. We demonstrate the construction of two forms of the action variable for a one dimensional harmonic oscillator in classical, relativistic and quantum regimes. The relativistic effects are considered as perturbative, within the context of a non-relativistic quantum formalism. The transition of the relativistic quantum system to both classical relativistic and classical non-relativistic regimes is illustrated in a unified framework. Formulas for the frequency of a classical relativistic oscillator and the energy eigenvalues of the corresponding quantum oscillator for the weak relativistic case are derived. Also studied are the non-relativistic and classical limits of these formulas which provide valuable insights on the parallels between relativistic and non-relativistic systems on the one hand and between classical and quantum systems on the other.