Group Theory in Quantum Hydrogen

Ren Xi ’19 presented an honors project in physics at Student Symposium, using group theory to understand the quantum mechanics of the hydrogen atom without explicitly solving Schordinger’s equation.

Student Symposium gives students the opportunity to present their research to students, staff, faculty and alumni.

Ren Xi developed an appreciation for the power of group theoretic approaches to mathematical physics problems in an abstract algebra class. While participating in the Oak Ridge National Labs semester, Xi worked in experimental and theoretical plasma physics, presenting results at SOFE. The honors project was examining possible ladder operator approaches to solving the hydrogen atom problem. In her spare time, Xi played flute; she was also part of a Dominion card game circle in the department. Xi starts graduate school in the physics program at Oregon State University in the fall of 2019.

By: Paul Stanley

July 23, 2019