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{{short description|Solution method for linear differential equations}}
{{Redirect2|WKB|WKBJ|other uses|WKB (disambiguation)|the television station in Live Oak, Florida|WKBJ-LD}}
In [[mathematical physics]], the '''WKB approximation''' or '''WKB method''' is a method for finding approximate solutions to [[Linear differential equation|linear differential equations]] with spatially varying coefficients. It is typically used for a [[Semiclassical physics|semiclassical]] calculation in [[quantum mechanics]] in which the [[Wave function|wavefunction]] is recast as an exponential function, semiclassically expanded, and then either the amplitude or the phase is taken to be changing slowly.
The name is an initialism for '''Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin'''. It is also known as the '''LG''' or '''Liouville–Green method'''. Other often-used letter combinations include '''JWKB''' and '''WKBJ''', where the "J" stands for Jeffreys.
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