Statistical correlations in the Moshinsky atom

We study the influence of the interparticle and confining potentials on statistical correlation via the correlation coefficient and mutual information in ground and some excited states of the Moshinsky atom in position and momentum space. The magnitude of the correlation between positions and between momenta is equal in the ground state. In excited states, the correlation between the momenta of the particles is greater than between their positions when they interact through an attractive potential whereas for repulsive interparticle potentials the opposite is true. Shannon entropies, and their sums (entropic formulations of the uncertainty principle), are also analyzed, showing that the one-particle entropy sum is dependent on the interparticle potential and thus able to detect the correlation between particles.