Singular wave functions and quantum collapse in inverse-power potentials

Quantum collapse (QC) occurs under the action of the inverse-power potential U(r)=-U 0/(2r n) in the framework of the Schroedinger equation. The corresponding stationary wave functions feature an infinite number of spatial oscillations at r to 0. The ground state (GS) is missing in the presence of the QC, but the available bound states at finite energies may be physically relevant, as they are normalizable. This work aims to produce singular stationary wave functions. The analytical findings represent an asymptotic form of the stationary wave functions at r to 0, which fill a continuous spectrum, and some exact solutions for the wave functions, obtained under appropriate conditions. As a regularized version, we also consider the potential truncated at a finite difference from the center. The regularized wave functions feature a finite number of spatial oscillations, the missing GS reappears, and the spectrum of the bound states is discrete.