EP2210, Principles of Quantum Mechanics, JulyNovember 2014

Exercise sheet 6
Essential mathematical formalism I
1. Eigen values and eigen functions of the momentum operator: Determine the eigen values and the
eigen functions of the momentum operator. Establish the completeness of the momentum eigen
functions.
2. The angular momentum operator: Consider the operator
L = i ~

d
,
d

where is an angular variable. Is the operator hermitian? Determine its eigenfunctions and eigenvalues.
Note: The operator L , for instance, could describe the conjugate momentum of a bead that is
constrained to move on a circle of a fixed radius.
3. Probabilities in momentum space: A particle of mass m is bound in the delta function well V (x) =
a (x), where a > 0. What is the probability that a measurement of the particles momentum
would yield a value greater than p0 = m a/~?
4. The energy-time uncertainty principle: Consider a system that is described by the Hamiltonian

operator H.
establish the following relation:
(a) Given an operator, say, Q,
+
*

dhQi
i
Q
,
= h[H, Q]i +
dt
~
t
where the expectation values are evaluated in a specific state.
does not explicitly depend on time, using the generalized uncertainty principle, show
(b) When Q
that



~  dhQi
H Q 
.
2  dt 
(c) Defining

Q
,

|dhQi/dt|

establish that
E t

~
,
2

and interpret this result.

5. Two-dimensional Hilbert space: Imagine a system in which there are only two linearly independent
states, viz.
 
 
1
0
|1i =
and |2i =
.
0
1
The most general state would then be a normalized linear combination, i.e.



|i = |1i + |2i =
,

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EP2210, Principles of Quantum Mechanics, JulyNovember 2014

with ||2 +||2 = 1. The Hamiltonian of the system can, evidently, be expressed as a 22 hermitian
matrix. Suppose it has the following form:


a b
H=
,
b a
where a and b are real constants. If the system starts in the state |1i at an initial time, say, t = 0,
determine the state of the system at a later time t.

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