Polynomial solutions of generalized quartic anharmonic oscillators

This paper deals with the partial solution of the energy eigenvalue problem for generalized symmetric quartic oscillators. Algebraization of the problem is achieved by expressing the Schrodinger operator in terms of the generators of a nilpotent group, which we call the quartic group. Energy eigenvalues are then seen to depend on the values of the two Casimir operators of the group. This dependence exhibits a scaling law which follows from the scaling properties of the group generators. Demanding that the potential gives rise to polynomial solutions in a particular Lie algebra element puts constraints on the four potential parameters, leaving only two of them free. For potentials satisfying such constraints, at least one of the energy eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenfunctions can be obtained in closed analytic form by pure algebraic means. With our approach, we extend the class of quasi exactly solvable quartic oscillators which have been obtained in the literature by means of the more common sl(2, R) algebraization. Finally, we show how solutions of the generalized quartic oscillator problem give rise to solutions for a charged particle moving in particular non-constant electromagnetic fields.