UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX Department of Physics & Astronomy

Quantum Mechanics 2, 2014/15

Tutor: Dr Sebastian J
ager, Office: Pev II 5A15
Worksheet 4
B,
C (not necessarily hermitian),
1. Show that for any operators A,
C]
= A[
B,
C]
+ [A,
C]
B

[AB,
B
C]
?
What is the analogous rule for [A,
2. Show that for any (normalized) wave function and any observable A that is not
explicitly time-dependent (this means that the operator A does not contain the variable
t) the time dependence of the expectation value is given by
d
d
= i (, [H,
A]).

hAi (, A)
dt
dt
h

Hint: Write out the inner product as an integral, use the product rule, and write the
outcome in terms of inner products.
3. (a) Show that (or look up the derivation in your QM1 notes)
[
x, px ] = ih,

[
x, py ] = 0.

Write the corresponding commutator for arbitrary components xi and pj of ~r and

p~, respectively, using the Kronecker -symbol.
(b) Show that
[p~ 2 , x] = 2i
hpx .
(c) Show that for any function f (~r),
[
x, f (~r)] = 0
(d) Show that for any function f (~r),
[
px , f (~r)] = ih

f
x

Hint: For (a), (c), (d) it is best to work this out in the position basis (ie working with
wave functions of ~r). The results hold in any basis, such as in momentum space, but
we would have to put a hat above the ~r in f (~r). More about bases soon.
4. The following problem is outside the main development of the module, however it is
recommended for anyone who wants to understand gauge invariance in fundamental
physics, and certainly to all theoretical physicists.
1

(a) Show that the (full, time-dependent) Schrodinger equation for a free particle is
invariant under a global transformation 0 , where 0 (~r, t) = ei (~r, t), of
the phase of the wave function, where is an arbitrary real number. That is,
show that 0 satisfies the Schrodinger equation if and only if does.
(b) Now consider a local transformation 0 = eiq/h , where (~r, t) is an arbitrary
function. Find the Schrodinger equation for the transformed wave funtion 0 it
is no longer the free Schrodinger equation.
(c) Show that if one modifies the Schrodinger equation by the substitution

~
p~ p~ q A,
i
h (i
h q),
t
t
then the S.E. is invariant under the combined transformation

~A
~0 = A
~ + ,
,
0 = eiq/h ,
A
0 =
t
i.e. a local change of phase accompanied by a gauge transformation on the vector
and scalar potential. The modified Schrodinger equation is precisely the form
proposed (and verified) in the lectures for a particle in an electromagnetic field.
Introducing interactions in this way is called the gauge principle.
5. Consider an electron
! in a fixed location, described by a (position-independent) Pauli

. Find the explicit forms of x and x for the two possible

spinor =

!
1
1
outcomes of a spin-x measurement. If = 10
before the measurement, what
3
are the probabilities to measure each of the two possible outcomes?
A.4 [Assessed, due in the School Office by 18 February 2015, 12noon. 24h
lateness policy (penalties apply). Feedback given in the form of model
answers (within 1 week), marked scripts and verbal feedback in lectures
(within 2 weeks).]
!

1
. A meaConsider an electron as in Problem 5, described initially by =
3
has
surement of the spin component along a certain axis, described by an operator A,
1
the eigenvalues 2 h
as possible outcomes (as with any axis), and the corresponding
eigenstates of A are
1
10

1
1 =
10

1
3

1
2 =
10

3
1

Explain without calculation why a measurement of A returns the result 12 h

with certainty. If the spin-z component were now to be measured, what would be the probabilities of getting 12 h
and 21 h
, respectively? If the spin-z component is now indeed
measured, and subsequently A again, show that the probability of getting 21 h
in the
second measurement is 41/50.
[2]
2