Asymptotic expansions for field moments of bound states

Asymptotic expansions are presented for the moments of bound states in one-dimensional anharmonic potentials. The results are derived by using the stable aggregate of flexible element (SAFE) method and include only the first non-zero wave-related correction to the familiar semi-classical approximation. Application to a couple of widely studied potentials that do not permit closed-form solutions is used to demonstrate surprising accuracy even in cases that are far from any asymptotic limit. We explore the absence of alternate terms in the asymptotic expansions as a way to explain the accuracy of the end results. Those results are expressed as definite integrals with integrands involving the parameter used in the SAFE method to control the extent of the associated elemental field contributions. Importantly, the integrals themselves are shown to be precisely independent of that parameter. Further, although the derivation proceeds by way of an asymptotic expansion for the wavefield that involves the associated classical motion, those entities do not appear in the end results which are expressed in terms of just the potential function and its first four derivatives.