Anomalies in Quantum Mechanics: the 1/r^2 Potential

Abstract

An anomaly is said to occur when a symmetry that is valid classically becomes broken as a result of quantization. Although most manifestations of this phenomenon are in the context of quantum field theory, there are at least two cases in quantum mechanics--the two dimensional delta function interaction and the 1/r^2 potential. The former has been treated in this journal; in this article we discuss the physics of the latter together with experimental consequences.

16 page latex file; to be published in Am. J. Phys

References in corpus (2)

• Quantum Anomaly in Molecular Physics
• A Neutral Atom and a Charged Wire: From Elastic scattering to Absorption

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