Since , applying the Hamiltonian operator gives
Thus the energy eigenvalues and corresponding full stationary states are
The ground state is with energy zero and quantum degeneracy one. For each , the positive energy level has quantum degeneracy two: its energy eigenspace is . This is the free particle spectrum on a circle.
A stationary state has . Substitution into the Schrödinger equation gives the energy eigenvalue equation
The trial wavefunction satisfies it with . The periodic boundary condition requires , hence , . The wavefunction normalization is , so a convenient common global phase gives the orthonormal basis
Indeed, . This is the free particle spectrum on a circle. The ground state has energy zero and is nondegenerate. Each positive energy level , , has energy eigenspace and quantum degeneracy two. Real sine and cosine combinations give another basis of the same energy eigenspace.