Quantum Dynamics of Anharmonic Oscillators. III. The Morse Oscillator

Abstract

Quantum calculations of the dynamics of a Morse oscillator with a Gaussian initial wave packet have been performed. As previously observed in other simple oscillators the classical and quantum expectation values for the coordinate exhibit significantly different behaviors, especially after the first few cycles. Some theories of chemical kinetics require the classical‐mechanical calculation of lifetimes which may be quite long compared to vibrational periods. These theories deserve re‐examination in view of the dynamical behavior observed in the present work.