Abstract
We have studied self-conjugate second-order equations with spinor wavefunctions for fermions moving in an external Coulomb field. For stationary states, the equations are characterized by separated states with positive and negative energies, which render probabilistic interpretation possible. For the Coulomb field of attraction, the energy spectrum of the second-order equation coincides with the spectrum of the Dirac equation, while the probability densities of states are slightly different. For a Coulomb field of repulsion, there exists an impermeable potential barrier with radius depending on the classical electron radius and on the electron energy. The existence of the impermeable barrier does not contradict the results of experiment for determining the inner electron structure and does not affect (in the lowest order of perturbation theory) the Coulomb electron scattering cross section. The existence of the impermeable barrier can lead to positron confinement in supercritical nuclei with Z ≥ 170 in case of realization of spontaneous emission of vacuum electron–positron pairs.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are grateful to G.M. Ter-Akop’yan, K.O. Vlasov, M.V. Gorbatenko, V.A. Zhmailo, A.I. Milshtein, and V.E. Shemarulin for fruitful discussions. Thanks are due to V.E. Novoselova for essential technical support in preparing this article.
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Pruefer Transformation and Boundary Conditions
Pruefer Transformation and Boundary Conditions
For numerical solution of Eqs. (39) and (40), we have used the Pruefer transformation [20–23].
By way of example, let us consider Eq. (39).
For function f(r) = rF(r), Eq. (39) has form
Let us assume that
Then
and Eq. (A.1) can be written in the form of the following system of first-order differential equations:
It should be noted that Eq. (A.5) must be solved after determining eigenvalues εn and eigenfunctions Φn(r) from Eq. (A.4)
For bound state with r → ∞, we get
For exponentially increasing solutions for r → ∞, we have
In expressions (A.6) and (A.7), k = 0, ±1, ±2, … .
The numerical method for solving equations of type (A.4), (A.5) with asymptotic forms (A.6) and (A.7) is described in detail in [3–5, 27].
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Neznamov, V.P., Safronov, I.I. Second-Order Stationary Solutions for Fermions in an External Coulomb Field. J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 128, 672–683 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063776119050145
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063776119050145