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arXiv · 1309.6346

Visualizing Angular Momentum Eigenstates using the Spin Coherent State Representation

Yen Lee Loh·Monica Kim
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Abstract

Orbital angular momentum eigenfunctions are readily understood in terms of spherical harmonic wavefunctions. However, the quantum mechanical phenomenon of spin is often said to be mysterious and hard to visualize, with no classical analogue. Many textbooks give a heuristic and somewhat unsatisfying picture of a precessing spin vector. Here we advocate for the "spin wavefunction" in the spin coherent state representation as a striking, elegant, and mathematically meaningful visual tool. We also demonstrate that cartographic projections such as the Hammer projection are useful for visualizing wavefunctions defined on spherical surfaces.

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Yen Lee Loh, Monica Kim. 2013-09-24. Visualizing Angular Momentum Eigenstates using the Spin Coherent State Representation. https://arxiv.org/abs/1309.6346

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