INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (IISER), PUNE

(An Autonomous Institution, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India)

Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411 008

FALL 2015
Assignment 7: Matrix algebra in Quantum Mechanics

Course name: Quantum Mechanics 1(PHY321)

Date of submission: 26/10/2015

Choosing a representation means choosing a basis, can be discrete or continuous in the linear vector space.
The vectors and operators are then represented in a basis by array of complex numbers, they are the
components of a vector or matrix elements for the operators. The basis vectors satisfy ortho-normalization
condition and closure relation. The number of basis vectors (or the linearly independent vectors) provide us
the dimension of the space. The change in basis or representations are done through unitary operators.

1. The raising
(a & a ) of harmonic oscillator satisfy the relations:
and lowering operators
a|ni = n|n 1i and a |ni = n + 1|n + 1i, where n = 0, 1, 2, .... Obtain the matrix representations
for the operators a and a in the |ni basis. (3 marks)

2. When a state |ai transforms into |a0 i by a unitary transformation, an operator A transforms to A0 .
Show that (i) if A is Hermitian then A0 is also a Hermitian and (ii) the eigen values of A is same as
that of A0 . (4 marks)
3. Consider a 2D space formed by the basis vectors {|1i, |2i}. Write the matrices that represent the
unitary transformations corresponding the following changes of basis: (3 marks)
(a) from {|1i, |2i} to {cos |1i + sin |2i, sin |1i + cos |2i}

(b) from {|1i, |2i} to {(|1i + i|2i)/ 2, (|1i i|2i)/ 2}.