Chapter 9

Angular Momentum

9.1  INTRODUCTION

It may be very well emphasized that the study of the application of quantum mechanics to three-dimensional systems, almost invariably, involves the description of the properties of angular momentum. For example, in connection with the quantum mechanical study of (i) states of electrons in atoms and molecules and (ii) states of nucleons (neutrons and protons) in the nuclei, the role of angular momentum is of paramount importance. Keeping these three-dimensional systems in mind, we firstly discuss orbital angular momentum in this chapter and shall take up the study of the solution of Schrodinger equation in three-dimensional potential in the next chapter.

In fact, the orbital angular momentum in quantum ...

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