PHY577 Problem Set 6. A classical string with tension T and mass per unit length stretched along x vibrates transversely along the z direction only.
L goes to infinity at the end of the calculations.
Assume that the string is initially in its ground state. We were using the Born-Oppenheimer approximation when we developed the van der Waals interaction. The wave function of the total system is approximated by first calculating the ground state energy of the light particles when the heavy particles are fixed. This ground state energy as a function of the positions of the heavy particles is then used as the potential between the heavy particles, and their Schroedinger equation is then solved. You should get a 1-dimensional version of a Yukawa potential.