Expansion method for stationary states of quantum billiards

A simple expansion method for numerically calculating the energy levels and the corresponding wave functions of a quantum particle in a two-dimensional infinite potential well with arbitrary shape ~quantum billiard! is presented. The method permits the study of quantum billiards in an introductory quantum mechanics course. According to the method, wave functions inside the billiard are expressed in terms of an expansion of a complete set of orthonormal functions defined in a surrounding rectangle for which the Dirichlet boundary conditions apply, while approximating the billiard boundary by a potential energy step of a sufficiently large size. Numerical implementations of the method are described and applied to determine the energies and wave functions for quarter-circle, circle, and triangle billiards. Finally, the expansion method is applied to investigate the quantum signatures of chaos in a classically chaotic generic-triangle billiard. © 1999 American Association of Physics Teachers.