Schrödinger equation and degeneracy of atomic orbitals How does the application of the Schrödinger equation to model a system, such as a particle in a box, help us understand the origin of the degeneracy of atomic orbitals?
Degeneracy refers to states having the same energy.
If you have two or more coordinates that can be related by a symmetry operation then the system will contain degenerate states because swapping the coordinates associated with those degrees will result in a Hamiltonian with the same solutions.
This is the case in both the hydrogen atom and in the particle in a cube.