EP 228 Solutions of Assign.

9 24 Mar 2015

1: Show that the position space representation of radial component of momentum is pr = i~ 1r r

r.
Solution: By the radial component of momentum, we want an operator pr that allows us to write
the radial component of the time-independent Schrodinger equation as

p2r
K
R(r) + V (r)R(r) = ER(r) + 2 R(r),
2m
r
assuming that the potential is a function of r only, and the wavefunction is separable in spherical
coordinates.
The Schrodinger equation in spherical coordinates is






~2
1
1

1
2
2

r
+ 2
sin
+ 2 2
R(r)Y (, ) +
2m r2 r
r
r sin

r sin 2
V (r)R(r)Y (, ) = ER(r)Y (, ).
Solving for the radial component R(r), we get


~2 1
K
2 R(r)

r
+ V (r)R(r) = ER(r) + 2 R(r).
2m r2 r
r
r
Thus taking

pr = i~

1
+
r r


= i~

1
r
r r

satisfies the requirement for the radial component of momentum.

2: A charged particle in an electromagnetic field is described by Hamiltonian
H=

1
e
(p A(r, t))2 + e(r, t)
2m
c

where A and are the vector potential and scalar potential. Using Heisenbergs evolution equation,
work out dr
dt . Proceed further to find the quantum mechanical form of Lorentz force proportional
2
to ddt2r .

Solution: Since r has no explicit time dependence, the Heisenberg evolution equation gives us
dx
dt

=
=
=
=
=
=

Thus,

dr
dt

1
[x, H]
i~
1
e
e
e
[x, (px Ax (r, t))2 + (py Ay (r, t))2 + (pz Az (r, t))2 + e(r, t)]
2im~
c
c
c
1
e
e
1
e
e
[x, (px Ax (r, t))](px Ax (r, t)) +
(px Ax (r, t))[x, (px Ax (r, t))]
2im~
c
c
2im~
c
c
1
e
1
e
[x, px ](px Ax (r, t)) +
(px Ax (r, t))[x, px ]
2im~
c
2im~
c
e
1
e
1
i~(px Ax (r, t)) +
(px Ax (r, t))i~
2im~
c
2im~
c
1
e
(px Ax (r, t)).
m
c
= v, where v =

1
m (p

ec A(r, t)). The Hamiltonian can hence be rewritten as

1
H = mv2 + e(r, t).
2

We now use Heisenbergs evolution equation to determine

dvx
dt

=
=
=

1
vx
[vx , H] +
i~
t
e
e Ax
m
[vx , vx2 + vy2 + vz2 ] + [vx , (r, t)]
2i~
i~
mc t
m
m
e
e Ax
[vx , vy2 ] +
[vx , vz2 ] +
[px , (r, t)]
.
2i~
2i~
mi~
mc t

Now [vx , vy2 ] = [vx , vy ]vy + vy [vx , vy ], which leads to

[vx , vy ] =
=
=
=
=

1
e
e
[(px Ax (r, t)), (py Ay (r, t))]
2
m
c
c
e
e
2 [Ax (r, t)), py ] 2 [px , Ay (r, t))]
m c
m c
ei~ Ax (r, t)
ei~ Ay (r, t)
2
+ 2
m c
y
m c
x
( A(r, t))z
ei~
Bz ,
m2 c

where we used the property that the magnetic field B = A(r, t). Similarly, [vx , vz ] = mei~
2 c By
This gives
ei~
ei~
[vx , vy2 ] = 2 (Bz vy + vy Bz ), [vx , vz2 ] = 2 (By vz + vz By ).
m c
m c
We now have
dvx
dt

=
=

e
e
e (r, t)
e Ax
(Bz vy + vy Bz )
(By vz + vz By )

2mc
2mc
m x
mc t
e
e
((v B)x (B v)x ) + Ex ,
2mc
m
2

where we used the property that the electric field E = (r, t)

1 A(r,t)
c
t .

This implies

e
d2 r
e
=
((v B) (B v)) + E.
2
dt
2mc
m
We thus conclude that the quantum mechanical Lorentz force is given by
m

e
d2 r
= ((v B) (B v)) + eE.
dt2
2c

3: A particle is bound in a potential well of the type V (r) = V0 for r < a and V (r) = 0 for
r > a. The Schrodinger equation for the radial part R(r) of the wavefunction (r, , ) for l = 0 is


1 d
2m
2 dR
r
+ 2 (E V )R = 0.
2
r dr
dr
~
Solve this equation to find the equation which would lead to energy states. (Hint: Use the substitution (r) = rR(r) to reduce the equation into a more familiar differential equation.)
Solution: Doing the hinted substitution, we get

~2 d2
+ V = E.
2m dr2

~2 d2
V0 = E.
2m dr2

For r < a, we get

q
2m(V0 +E)
Since V0 + E > 0, the solution for r < a is (r) = C sin r + D cos r where =
.
~2
Since the actual wavefunction R(r) = (r)/r, finiteness of R(0) implies that D = 0, that is,
(r) = C sin r for r < a.
For r > a, we get
~2 d2
= E.

2m dr2
q
kr
kr
Since E < 0 for bound states, the solution for r > a is (r) = Ae + Be
where k = 2mE
.
~2
Since R() = 0, we get A = 0, that is, (r) = Bekr for r > a.
We now require continuity of R(r) and R0 (r) at r = a. This gives us
C sin a = Beka ,

C cos a = kBeka ,

which implies that k = tan a, akin to the one dimensional square well problem.
4: Recall, the definition of the spherical harmonics Yl,m (, ) = h
n|l, mi as discussed in class
where n
is a unit vector giving the orientation that is, , . Suppose you are given
r
7
Y3,0 (, ) =
(5 cos3 3 cos ).
16
Using the differential operator form (position space representation) of the angular momentum ladder
operators L+ , L along with the action on |lmi, determine the spherical harmonics Y3,1 (, ) and
Y3,1 (, ).
3

Solution: We have
r
L+ (Y3,0 (, )) = ~e

= ~e

Since L+ (Y3,0 (, )) =

7
16

+ i cot

(5 cos3 3 cos )

7
(15 cos2 sin + 3 sin ).
16

12Y3,1 , we get
Y3,1

L+ (Y3,0 )
=
= ei
12

21
sin (1 5 cos2 ).
64

In a similar fashion, we see that

r
Y3,1 = e

21
sin (1 5 cos2 ).
64

5: Consider an operator V+ which satisfy the following commutation relations

[L+ , V+ ] = 0,
[Lz , V+ ] = ~V+ .
Using these relations, show that
Lz (V+ (Yll )) = (l + 1)~V+ (Yll ),
L2 (V+ (Yll )) = (l + 1)(l + 2)~2 V+ (Yll ).
Solution: The relations imply that V+ is a raising operator for Lz with shift ~. Thus,
Lz (V+ (Yll )) = [Lz , V+ ](Yll ) + V+ (Lz (Yll )) = ~V+ (Yll ) + l~V+ (Yll ) = (l + 1)~V+ (Yll ).
This implies that V+ (Yll ), if not the zero vector, is an eigenvector of Lz with eigenvalues (l + 1)~.
If it is the zero vector, the second equation holds trivially. If not, then
V+ (Yll ) =

l0 Yl0 ,l+1

l0 =l+1

where the l0 are not all zero, since the eigenspace of Lz with eigenvalue (l + 1)~ is spanned by the
orthogonal vectors on the right hand side of the above equation. Now

l0 L+ (Yl0 ,l+1 ) =

l0 =l+2

l0 L+ (Yl0 ,l+1 ) = L+ (V+ (Yll )) = V+ (L+ (Yll )) = 0,

l0 =l+1

which implies that l+2 = l+3 = = 0. In other words, V+ (Yll ) = l+1 Yl+1,l+1 and hence
L2 (V+ (Yll )) = l+1 L2 (Yl+1,l+1 ) = l+1 (l + 1)(l + 2)~2 Yl+1,l+1 = (l + 1)(l + 2)~2 V+ (Yll ).
6: A system is in the state

1
3
1
(, ) = Y1,1 + Y1,0 + Y1,1 .
5
5
5
4

(a) Find h|L+ |i.

(b) If Lz is measured, what values are obtained and what are the probabilities of getting each of
the values?
(c) If on measuring Lz we get a value ~, calculate the uncertainties Lx and Ly .
Solution:
(a):
h|L+ |i =
=
=

~ 2
~ 6
h|Y1,0 i + h|Y1,1 i
5
5

~ 6
~ 6
hY1,0 |Y1,0 i +
hY1,1 |Y1,1 i
5
5
2~ 6
.
5

(b): Measurement of Lz gives values ~, 0, ~ with probabilities 1/5, 3/5 and 1/5.
(c): Since Lz is measured and value ~ is obtained, the state collapses to Y1,1 . Since Y1,1 is an
eigenstate of Lz ,
hLz i = ~.
Now,
~Y1,0
L+ + L
(Y1,1 ) = ,
2
2

~Lx (Y1,0 )
~2 2(Y1,1 + Y1,1 )
~2 (Y1,1 + Y1,1 )
~(L+ + L )

L2x (Y1,1 ) =
=
(Y1,0 ) =
=
,
2
2
2 2
2 2
which implies
hLx i = hY1,1 |Lx |Y1,1 i = 0,
Lx (Y1,1 ) =

hL2x i = hY1,1 |L2x |Y1,1 i =

~2
.
2

Thus,
Lx =

p
~
hL2x i hLx i = .
2

Arguing similarly, we get

~
Ly = .
2
Observe that

~2
~
= |hLz i|,
2
2
achieving the minimum of the uncertainty relation in a balanced fashion.
Lx Ly =

7: Consider an electron (e) - positron (p) system. The interaction between the spins of the two
particles is expressed by the Hamiltonian
~e S
~p
H = 2AS
~=S
~e + S
~p .
where S
5

(a) Find the eigenvalues and the eigenstates of S 2 and S z . The eigenvectors are to be expressed
in terms of eigenstates of Sez and Spz .
(b) Determine the interaction energies for eigenstates determined in part (a) above.
(c) If a uniform magnetic field B is applied parallel to the z-axis, the Hamiltonian becomes
H 0 = H + B(Sez Spz ),
where is a constant. Find the energy eigenvalues and eigenstates of H 0 .
Solution: Let |+i, |i refer to the spin up and spin down eigenstates of Sez . We have
Sez |+i =

~
|+i,
2

~
Sez |i = |i,
2

and so
Sez

~
= z ,
2


z =

1 0
0 1


,

in the eigenbasis of Sez .

Similarly, in the eigenbasis of Sez , the spin matrices Sex , Sey are described by
Sex
Sey

S + + Se
= e
,
2

S + Se
= e
,
2i

Sex |+i
Sex |+i

~
= |i,
2

~
= i |i,
2

Sex |i
Sex |i

~
= |+i,
2

~
= i |+i,
2

Sex

~
= x ,
2

Sex

~
= y ,
2


x =

y =

0 1
1 0

0 i
i 0

,

.

In order to study the electron-positron system, we use the tensor product basis of Sez and Spz
given by | + +i, | + i, | +i, | i, where the first coordinate refers to the electron and the
second to the positron. We have
~e = ~ (~ix 1 + ~jy 1 + ~kz 1), S
~p = ~ (~i1 x + ~j1 y + ~k1 z ),
S
2
2
where the 1 is the 2 2 identity matrix, x , y , z are the the Pauli matrices and the first
multiplicand in the tensor product refers to the electron and the second to the positron. The
~e are sensitive to the state of
tensor product with identity ensures that the spin operators in S
the electron only, and leave the state of the positron unchanged. A similar remark holds for spin
~p .
operators in S
Now,
~=S
~e + S
~p = ~ (~i(x 1 + 1 x ) + ~j(y 1 + 1 y ) + ~k(z 1 + 1 z )).
S
2
Finally,
2
~e S
~b = 2A ~ (x x + y y + z z ).
H = 2AS
4
Thus, in terms of the tensor product of the eigenbasis of Sez and Spz , we have

0 0 1 0
0 0 i 0
1 0 0
0

0
~e = ~ ~i 0 0 0 1 + ~j 0 0 0 i + ~k 0 1 0
,
S

1 0 0 0
i 0 0
0
0 0 1 0
2
0 1 0 0
0 i 0
0
0 0 0 1
6

0
1
~
~p = ~i
S
2 0
0

0
1
~
~ = ~i
S
2 1
0

0 0 0
2

~
0 0 1
H = 2A
4 0 1 0
1 0 0

1
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0

0 i 0 0
0
1 0 0 0

0
+ ~j i 0 0 0 + ~k 0 1 0 0 ,

0 0 1 0
0 0 0 i
1
0 0 0 1
0 0 i 0
0

2 0 0 0
0 i i 0
1 0

0 i
0 1
+ ~k 0 0 0 0 ,
+ ~j i 0

0 0 0 0
i 0
0 i
0 1
0 0 0 2
0 i
i
0
1 0

1 0
0 0
0 0 0 1
1 0
0 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 A~2 0 1 2 0

0 1 0 0 + 0 0 1 0 = 2 0 2 1 0
0 0
0 1
1 0 0 0
0 0
0 1
0
0
0
1

(a): We have
~ S
~
S2 = S
2
~
((x 1 + 1 x )2 + (y 1 + 1 y )2 + (z 1 + 1 z )2 )
=
4
~2
=
(61 1 + 2x x + 2y y + 2z z )
4
3~2
~2 ~ ~
=
11+ S
e Sp
2
2

1 0 0 0
1 0
0 0
2

3~2
0 1 0 0 + ~ 0 1 2 0
=

0 0 1 0
0 2 1 0
2
2
0 0 0 1
0 0
0 1

2 0 0 0

0 1 1 0

= ~2
0 1 1 0 ,
0 0 0 2

1 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
~

Sz = (z 1 + 1 z ) = ~
0 0 0 0 .
2
0 0 0 1
|+i+|+i |+i|+i

,
,
2
2
|+i+|+i

+i, | i,
,
2

By inspection, it is easy to see that the eigenvectors of S 2 are |++i, |i,

with eigenvalues 2~2 , 2~2 , 2~2 , 0. Similary, the eigenvectors of S z are | +
|+i|+i

,
2

with eigenvalues ~, ~, 0, 0.
Since S 2 and S z have a common eigenbasis, they commute. We can denote the vectors of
the eigenbasis using the |s, mi notation, where the first component refers to the eigenvalue for S 2
denoting the total spin of the electron-positron system viz. S 2 |s, mi = s(s + 1)~2 |s, mi, and the
second component refers to the eigenvalue for S z denoting the spin of the electron-positron system
along z-axis viz. S z |s, mi = m~|s, mi. Under this convention, the above vectors are denoted by
|1, 1i, |1, 1i, |1, 0i, |0, 0i.
7

(b): The interaction energies for the eigenstates above can be easily obtained by calculating the
average values of the Hamiltonian H under them. Thus, the interaction energies of | + +i, | i,
2
2
2
2
|+i+|+i |+i|+i

,
are A~2 , A~2 , A~2 , 3A~
respectively.
2
2
2
(c): If a uniform magnetic field B is applied along the z-axis, the Hamiltonian becomes
H 0 = H + B(Sez Spz )
~
= H + B (z 1 1 z )

2
1 0
0 0

A~2
0 1 2 0 + B~
=

0 2 1 0
2
0 0
0 1

2
A~
0
0
2

A~2
A~2
0 B~ 2
=
2
2
0
A~
B~ A~2
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0 0 0
1 0 0

0 1 0
0 0 0

A~2
2

H0

A2 ~4 +2 B 2 ~2 B~

| +i
It is now easy to see that the eigenstates of
are | + +i, | i, | + i +
A~2

2
A2 ~4 +2 B 2 ~2 +B~
A~2 A~2
(normalised), | + i
| +i (normalised), with eigenvalues 2 , 2 , A~2 +
A~2
p
p
2
A2 ~4 + 2 B 2 ~2 , A~2 A2 ~4 + 2 B 2 ~2 respectively.
We see that there are two distinct eigenenergies in the two dimensional space of zero spin along
z-axis. This is true even when the magnetic field B = 0. A non-zero magnetic field B further
separates the two eigenenergies.
8: Consider a system of two non-interacting identical particles of mass m confined in a two dimensional box of sides L. Find the energy and wavefunction of the ground state of the systems when
the particles are (a) fermions (b) bosons. Assume both the particles are in the same spin state.
Solution: Let (x1 , y1 ), (x2 , y2 ) denote the position space coordinates of the two particles. The
wave function in position space is a square integrable function (x1 , y1 , x2 , y2 ). Since the particles
are non-interacting and identical, the time independent Schrodinger equation becomes
 2

~2

2
2
2

+
+
+
= E.
2m x21 y12 x22 y22
Separation of variables can be used to solve this, giving rise to eigenstates
m1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2 (x1 , y1 , x2 , y2 ) = m1 (x1 )n1 (y1 )m2 (x2 )n2 (y2 ),
where

2
nx
sin
, 0 x L,
n (x) = 0,
x < 0 or x > L,
L
L
n a positive integer, is the well known eigenstate for a particle in a one dimensional box of length
~2 2
L with eigenenergy En = n2 2mL
2 . The eigenenergy of m1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2 is thus
n (x) =

Em1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2 = (m21 + n21 + m22 + n22 )

8

~2 2
.
2mL2

For fermions, the wave function has to be antisymmetric under exchange of the two particles.
Since they have the same spin state, this implies that states of the form

m
=
1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2

m1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2 m2 ,n2 ,m1 ,n1

,
2

(m1 , n1 ) 6= (m2 , n2 ), form an orthonormal basis for the space of wave functions. The 2 in

=
the denominator above comes from the normalisation requirement. Note that m
1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2

m2 ,n2 ,m1 ,n1 . The energy of m1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2 is Em1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2 .
For bosons, the wave function has to be symmetric under exchange of the two particles. Since
they have the same spin state, this implies that states of the form
+
m
=
1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2

m1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2 + m2 ,n2 ,m1 ,n1

,
2

(m1 , n1 ) 6= (m2 , n2 ), and

m1 ,n1 ,m1 ,n1
+
+
form an orthonormal basis for the space of wave functions. Note that m
= m
.
1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2
2 ,n2 ,m1 ,n1
+
The energy of m1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2 is Em1 ,n1 ,m2 ,n2 .

Thus, for fermions, the space of ground states is two dimensional and spanned by 1,1,1,2
and
2 2

.
with energy 7~
1,1,2,1
2mL2
For bosons, the space of ground states is one dimensional and spanned by 1,1,1,1 with energy
4~2 2
.
2mL2