44 Fundamentals of Quantum Mechanics

Proof: Since the two observables are compatible, the corresponding operators  and B̂
commute, that is, ÂB̂ = B̂Â. Let φn be the eigenfunction of the operator  with eigenvalue
an . Then we have

ÂB̂φn = B̂Âφn = an (B̂φn ), (2.7.41)

where we made use of the eigenvalue equation for the operator Â: Âφn = an φn . Equation
(2.7.41) says that B̂φn is also an eigenfunction of  with the same eigenvalue an . Therefore,
B̂φn ∝ φn , that is,

B̂φn = bn φn , (2.7.42)

where bn is the constant of proportionality. Equation (2.7.42) is nothing but the eigenvalue
equation for the operator B̂ with φn as the eigenfunction and bn as the eigenvalue. Thus, φn
is also an eigenfunction of B̂ with eigenvalue bn . The theorem is proved.
Theorem 2.7.1 can be generalized to the case of many mutually compatible observables
A, B,C, . . .. All the corresponding compatible operators, Â, B̂, Ĉ, . . ., will possess a common
set of eigenfunctions.

Theorem 2.7.2: If two observables A and B have a common set of eigenfunctions, they are
compatible, that is, the corresponding operators  and B̂ commute.
Proof: Let {φn } be the common set of eigenfunctions for the operators  and B̂. Then we
have Âφn = an φn and B̂φn = bn φn , where an and bn are the eigenvalues of the operators Â
and B̂, respectively. We then have

ÂB̂φn = Â(bn φn ) = bn (Âφn ) = bn an φn , (2.7.43)

B̂Âφn = B̂(an φn ) = an (B̂φn ) = an bn φn . (2.7.44)

Subtracting (2.7.44) from (2.7.43), we obtain

(ÂB̂ − B̂Â)φn = 0. (2.7.45)

For the equation (2.7.45) to be valid for any φn , we must have

(ÂB̂ − B̂Â) = 0. (2.7.46)

Thus, the operators  and B̂ commute. The theorem is proved.

Definition: The set of hermitian operators Â, B̂, Ĉ,. . . is called a complete set of
commuting operators (CSCO) if the operators mutually commute and the set of their
common eigenfunctions is complete and unique.
A complete set of operators, may sometimes consist of only one operator. For instance,
the position operator x̂ of a spinless particle, moving in one spatial dimension, provides a
 The Postulates of Quantum Mechanics 45

complete set. Its momentum operator p̂ also constitutes a complete set. However, if we
combine them together, x̂ and p̂ do not form a complete set because they do not commute.
We shall now discuss the problem of measuring more than one observable on a system
in a given state. Consider two observables represented by the operators  and B̂. Suppose
we want to measure these on a system which is in a state ψ. Since, in general, operators
do not commute, the result obtained by measuring A first and then B will differ from the
one obtained by measuring B first and then A. Let us find out the reason behind it.
Suppose  and B̂ do not commute and ψ is the nth eigenstate of the operator  with
eigenfunction φn and the corresponding eigenvalue an . If we measure A first, the
measurement will, with certainty, yield the value an and the state of the system will
change from ψ to φn (the nth eigenstate of Â). Since  and B̂ do not commute, φn is not an
eigenstate of B̂. If we now measure B, the result of measurement cannot be predicted in
advance. Any of the eigenvalues, bm , of B̂ can occur. The probability of obtaining bm will
be given by |cnm |2 where cnm is the coefficient in the expansion of φn into a series with
respect to the complete set of eigenfunctions, {χm }, of B̂

φn = ∑ cnm χm . (2.7.47)
m
Now, we reverse the sequence of measurement and measure B first and then A. In this case,
the measurement of B will yield one of the eigenvalues of B̂, say b j , and the system will
collapse into the eigenstate χ j . Since χ j is not an eigenstate of Â, the measurement of A
can result in any of the eigenvalues of Â. The probability of getting the value am for A will
be given by |c jm |2 , where c jm are the coefficients in the expansion of χ j into a series with
respect to the complete set of eigenfunctions, {φm }, of Â

χ j = ∑ c jm φm . (2.7.48)
n

Obviously, the results of the first set of measurements will, in general, be different from
the results of the second set of measurements. Hence, the result of measurement of more
than one observables on a system depends on the order in which they are measured.
Now assume that the operators  and B̂ commute. Then according to Theorem 2.7.1,
they will have a common set of eigenfunctions, say, {φ j }. Now if ψ is, say, the nth
eigenstate of  (described by the eigenfunction φn ) and we measure A, the result we shall
get will be nothing but the eigenvalue an of Â. Clearly, the state of the system will not be
altered by the measurement, i.e., the state remains to be the the nth eigenstate of Â. Since
φn is also an eigenfunction of B̂ with eigenvalue bn , the measurement of B will now with
certainty yield bn . Conversely, if we measure B first, the result will be bn and again the
state of the system will not be altered. The subsequent measurement of A will with
certainty yield an . In both the sequences of measurements, the result will be the same.
Corollary: Compatible observables can be measured simultaneously with any desired
accuracy, while non-compatible observables cannot be measured simultaneously
accurately.