Trajectory-Wave Approach to Electron Dynamics in Hydrogen Atom

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel corpuscular-wave approach to electron dynamics in hydrogen atoms, linking trajectories with wave equations and matching quantum energy levels through a new geometric interpretation.

Contribution

It develops a new trajectory-wave theory that describes electron motion with explicit spatial surfaces corresponding to quantum states, aligning with known energy levels.

Findings

Electron trajectories form surfaces at quantum nodes.

Surfaces match Bohr orbit radii.

Theory aligns with quantum energy solutions.

Abstract

In this work we propose a new approach to the explanation of the nature of electron based on the corpuscular-wave monism using the further development of the optical-mechanical analogy to describe the physical reality. In this theory the motion of an electron is considered to occur along a trajectory the presence of which is a reflection of the existence of a particle, as well as it is assumed that any motion is defined by a wave V(x,t). It is assumed that there is an explicit relationship between the trajectory and wave equations of the electron, which are established on the basis of the local variational principle. In this approach, an electron wave propagating in free space takes along the electron trajectory. We used this theory to describe the electron motion in a hydrogen-like atom and found its stationary states. The energies of these states coincide with the known quantum mechanics solutions for the stationary energies of the hydrogen-like atom, however, in our approach the spatial trajectories of the electron have the form of the surfaces, which are formed in the region of nodes of the standing electron wave. These surfaces have the form of spheres for the spherical symmetrical electron states and the radii of these spheres coincide with the radii of the Bohr orbits of these states. Thus, in this approach the trajectory and wave measurements of the electron get a consistent spatial description that is inherent to the picture of the corpuscular-wave monism. We discuss the considerable correspondence of the proposed theory with the quantum mechanics results describing the stationary and non-stationary motions of the electron in the atom and their difference. We believe that measuring of the spatial configuration of the observed electron trajectory surfaces in an atom could be a deep examination of the standard quantum theory.