Quantum Mechanics 215A Homework Solutions #1

Sam Pinansky
October 8, 2003

People did fine on this assignment. The only mistakes were on the second problem. The average
was 18.1/20.
1. (5 Points) This can be proved simply by writing out both sides:

− AC{D, B} + A{C, B}D − C{D, A}B + {C, A}DB (1)

= −ACDB − ACBD + ACBD + ABCD − CDAB − CADB + CADB + ACDB (2)
= ABCD − CDAB (3)
= [AB, CD] (4)

Done.

2. (10 Points) The problem asks you to use bra-ket algebra to prove these, but some of you
converted them into matrix problems. This was not incorrect, but was not exactly in the spirit
of the problem.
(a) By the definition of the trace:
X
tr(XY ) ≡ ha|XY |ai (5)
a

where |ai is some orthonormal basis. Now we insert a complete set of states:
X XX
ha|XY |ai = ha|X|a0 iha0 |Y |ai (6)
a a a0
XX
= ha0 |Y |aiha|X|a0 i (7)
a0 a
X
= ha0 |Y X|a0 i (8)
a0
= tr(Y X) (9)

where we have used the fact that ha0 |Y |ai and ha|X|a0 i are just numbers so commute, and
the completeness of the |ai. Challenge: Generalize this problem to prove the cyclicity of
the trace, namely: tr(X1 X2 . . . Xn ) = tr(Xn X1 . . . Xn−1 ). (Well, not much of a challenge
really).

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(b) There are two ways to prove this: 1. Using the dual correspondence. 2. Use the identity
that ha00 |X|a0 i∗ = ha0 |X † |a00 i. Actually, these methods are completely equivalent, one
just uses a specific basis representation while the other is basis independent. Here is the
dual correspondance proof:

|βi ≡ X † |αi ↔ hα|X = hβ| (10)

† † † †
Y X |αi = Y |βi ↔ hβ|Y = hα|XY ↔ (XY ) |αi (11)
† † †
⇒ Y X = (XY ) (12)

where ↔ means dual correspondence. Essentially you are applying the dual correspon-
dence twice.
The other method goes like this: Take a basis of states, |ai, and look at the general matrix
element of (XY )† :

ha|(XY )† |bi = hb|XY |ai∗ (13)

X
= hb|X|ci∗ hc|Y |ai∗ (14)
c
X
= hc|Y |ai∗ hb|X|ci∗ (15)
c
X
= ha|Y † |cihc|X † |bi (16)
c
= ha|Y † X † |bi (17)

Thus (XY )† = Y † X † . This proof is a little more direct then the above, but it chooses a
particular basis to work in so is a bit less elegant.
(c) First, let |ai i be the eigenbasis for A, such that A|ai i = ai |ai i. Then An |ai i = ani |ai i
(trivial iteration proof). Now we note that we expand f (A) in power series for any nice
function f :
∞
X
f (A) = fn An (18)
n=0
P
So taking a general ket expanded out in the eigenbasis of A: |αi = j αj |aj i (where
αj = haj |αi), we get:
XX
f (A)|αi = fn αj An |aj i (19)
n j
XX
= fn anj αj |aj i (20)
n j
X
= αj f (aj )|aj i (21)
j

2
 So now we apply the operator exp(if (A)) to a general ket |αi:

X∞ n
i
exp(if (A))|αi = f (A)n |αi (22)
n=0
n!
∞ X n
X i
= f (aj )n αj |aj i (23)
n=0 j
n!
X
= exp(if (aj ))αj |aj i (24)
j
X
= exp(if (aj ))|aj ihaj |αi (25)
j
P
So the operator is exp(if (A)) = j exp(if (aj ))|aj ihaj |, i.e. it projects onto the eigen-
states of A and multiplies by some phase.
On a side note, if A = A† , i.e. A is hermition, then the operator exp(if (A)) is always
unitary.
(d) This is simply substitution:
X X
ψa∗0 (x0 )ψa0 (x00 ) = hx0 |a0 i∗ hx00 |a0 i (26)
a0 a0
X
= hx00 |a0 iha0 |x0 i (27)
a0
= hx00 |x0 i (28)
= δ(x00 − x0 ) (29)

where in the last step we used the orthogonality of the continuous x basis.
3. (5 points) Its easiest to do these calculation (at least, for me) by using a matrix representation,
with
µ ¶
1
|+i = (30)
0
µ ¶
0
|−i = (31)
1

Then we see that:

µ ¶
h̄ 0 1
Sx = (32)
2 1 0
µ ¶
h̄ 0 −i
Sy = (33)
2 i 0
µ ¶
h̄ 1 0
Sz = (34)
2 0 −1

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Now the verifications are just matrix multiplications:
µ ¶ µ ¶ µ ¶ µ ¶ µ ¶
h̄ 0 1 h̄ 0 −i h̄ 0 −i h̄ 0 1 h̄ 1 0
[Sx , Sy ] = − = ih̄ = ih̄Sz
2 1 0 2 i 0 2 i 0 2 1 0 2 0 −1
(35)
You can easily use these representation to prove all the components of [Si , Sj ] = ih̄eijk Sk and
{Si , Sj } = h̄2 /2δij . (No one got this wrong, so I don’t feel the urge to show you trivial matrix
algebra).