Computational aspects of the continuum quaternionic wave functions for hydrogen

Over the past few years considerable attention has been given to the role played by the Hydrogen Continuum Wave Functions (HCWFs) in quantum theory. The HCWFs arise via the method of separation of variables for the time-independent Schrödinger equation in spherical coordinates. The HCWFs are composed of products of a radial part involving associated Laguerre polynomials multiplied by exponential factors and an angular part that is the spherical harmonics. In the present paper we introduce the continuum wave functions for hydrogen within quaternionic analysis ((R)QHCWFs), a result which is not available in the existing literature. In particular, the underlying functions are of three real variables and take on either values in the reduced and full quaternions (identified, respectively, with R3R3 and R4R4). We prove that the (R)QHCWFs are orthonormal to one another. The representation of these functions in terms of the HCWFs are explicitly given, from which several recurrence formulae for fast computer implementations can be derived. A summary of fundamental properties and further computation of the hydrogen-like atom transforms of the (R)QHCWFs are also discussed. We address all the above and explore some basic facts of the arising quaternionic function theory. As an application, we provide the reader with plot simulations that demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.(R)QHCWFs are new in the literature and have some consequences that are now under investigation.