[seanifred]

ok so ive done the first part...i just dont know where to go after showing that it is constant...to put it short, im good on the calculations but need help on the conceptual questions of this problem

thanks

the problem:

For the p state of a hydrogen atom show that the sum of the square moduli of the
spherical harmonics with magnetic moment m = -1, 0, +1 is a constant (independent of
the angular variables).   What is the physical significance of this result?
Can you generalize this result to d states and then to a state with an arbitrary angular
momentum l?  What’s the difference between the quantum numbers l and m ?

[seanifred]

so pretty much all i need is some help on these:

What is the physical significance of this result?
Can you generalize this result to d states and then to a state with an arbitrary angular
momentum l?  What’s the difference between the quantum numbers l and m ?