COMMUTATIVITY IN QUANTUM MECHANICS

Table of Contents

1.0 INTRODUCTION:............................................................................2
1.1 OPERATORS;...............................................................................2
1.3 LINEARITY OF OPERATORS.................................................3
MULTIPLICITY OF OPERATORS AND COMMUTATORS;............4
2.1 COMMUTATION RELATION OF VARIOUS QUANTUM
MECHANICAL OPERATORS...........................................................5
1.0 INTRODUCTION:

Commutativity in quantum mechanics is a very well laid out,

rational point which relies on the term called commutator. Commutator
exists nowhere else but wherever the operators exist. Therefore, it is
clear that Commutativity interacts with the operators which make us
comfortable to say, we must understand what the operators mean for
deep and unusual understanding of the term commutator as well as
Commutativity.

1.1 OPERATORS;
(Operator). (Function)= Another function

“Operator is a mathematical procedure or instruction which is

carried out over a certain function to yield another function”
∂y 4 ∂y
“If we differentiate y=x 5 to obtain that ∂ x =5 x then ∂ x is an
operator due to a fact that it has changed the original function into
another function.”

Operator is something that because a particular thing to happen.

When a person is talking anything, there is something else operated on
him/her that forced that person to talk, you are just seeing me because
there is something that is operating on your eyes, A car is moving
because there is something operated on it that caused it to move, I am
talking because there is something operating on my body that caused
me to talk. Therefore, in this scenario, we are living in the operators
which make every possible thing in our lives to be possible. In this
sense, anything that operates on a substance and causes anything to
happen is called operator. But you have to remember that, your mouth,
your eyes, your body, and cars are macroscopic phenomenon which
cannot be described by the Quantum mechanics, in Quantum mechanics
we describe the microscopic world for example electrons, neutrinos,
photons, Hadrons and mesons even Quarks can be prescribed in
Quantum mechanics for example the Dirac-Einstein equation.
Therefore, when we say operators in Quantum mechanics you need not

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to think about the macroscopic world for example your body no!
Instead, you must think directly to the world of microscopic states
which gobbles you up to the electrons, quarks, hadrons, and flavors
which are prescribed as the fundamental particles.

I’ll not go beyond about these operators as this is a topic which

has been described by the lecturer but instead we are going to see a
crucial part which could have linked with the term commutator as well
as Commutativity. In Quantum mechanics there are thousands of
operators both known and unknown which operate on the state of one
object onto another state which can be observed by the elites. We are
not going in deep but we can mention basic operators which are found
in Quantum mechanics as follows;

Note: Everything in this universe is in mathematical form;

therefore, mathematics is a virtual language that describes multiple
kingdoms with specific deviations. And everything in virtual language
of mathematics can be observed in physical world as position,
momentum, and energy by the help of operators. We are living between
two numbers, 0 and 1

Energy operator; this operator is one of the basic operators in

Quantum mechanics which makes any virtual mathematical language
rhymes to be observed in physical world as an energy. Meaning that,
everything in mathematical world can be observed in physical world as
the energy unless we let the energy operator to operate on that thing.
Any equation in mathematics can be observed as energy if we apply
energy operator which is written as;

P2
E= +V ( x , t)
2m

Bolded letters are operators. If a particle is described by a

function of

f ( x , t )=x 2 +∝t

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 Then we observe this particle in our physical world in form after
applying the energy operator in the above function to energy.

Momentum operator; the same principle applied in energy

operator, momentum operator used to convert the mathematical
function into the observable state or physical state. Therefore, if the
function has been operated by the momentum operator changes to be
the momentum and it will be observed as the momentum. Momentum
operator is given as;
∇
P=ℏ
i

Bolded letters/symbols are operators

Position operator; this operator converts the function into the

position. Therefore, if we apply the position operator on the particles
function we observe a function as a position of the particle.
x φ=x φ

Bolded letter is an operator. Other operators are; Laplacian,

Hermitian, Fourier operator, Langrangian operator, Hamiltonian
operator etc.

1.3 LINEARITY OF OPERATORS

All the operators in Quantum mechanics are described as the

linear operators, this is due to the fact that they just argue(S) with the
equation which is given as;
Bbφ−bBφ=0

Where b is constant
B ( φ1 +φ2 ) −[ B φ1+ B φ 2 ] =0

All the above two equations are just due a case of the single
operator acting on the set of object. But sometimes it can happen that
two operators are acting on the same set of objects, their operation is
like the following;
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 ( A+ B ) φ ≡ Aφ+Bφ

Or
( A+ B ) φ−( Aφ+Bφ)≡ 0

Note; all the bolded symbols in the equation are operators.

MULTIPLICITY OF OPERATORS AND COMMUTATORS;

As you see at the top equations, show that the summing of the
operators is linear but that is not only the case we need to consider, but
also the multiplication of the operators might be important tool for our
case of Commutativity which is the main topic in this subject.

For two operators acting on the single set of objects

ABφ ≡ A ( Bφ )

The meaning of this relation is that; you act first with B which is
closest to φ and then act on the result with A
ABφ ≡ A ( Bφ )

BAφ ≡ B ( Aφ )

The order of multiplication matters and AB may not be the same

with BA .There is a slight difference. We can quantify this difference as
the commutator of two operators.

[ A , B ] means commutator
[ A , B ] =AB−BA It is a commutator

Therefore, simply commutator means differences between the

products of two operators. If a commutator becomes equal to zero, we
say that two operators commutes which means that,
[ A , B ] =0

2.1 COMMUTATION RELATION OF VARIOUS QUANTUM

MECHANICAL OPERATORS

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 “Two operators, A and B are said to be commutating or non-
commutating depending upon the value of their commutator
[ A , B ] =AB−B=0 means the operators are commutating Or if[ A , B ] =AB−BA ≠ 0
means the operators are non-commutating”

“When two operators commute, it means that they possess a

simultaneous set of Eigen function and their corresponding physical
properties can be estimated accurately and simultaneously”

i. Calculate the commutator of the

d
[ ],
x,
dx
let it be operated over a functionφ

Solution

d dφ dxφ
[ ]
x,
dx
φ=x −
dx dx

d dφ dφ
[ ]
x,
dx
φ=x −φ−x =−φ
dx dx

d
Therefore a commutator [ ] is
x,
dx
– φ, so the operators are non-

commutating.
ii. Calculate the commutator of the
d
[ ]
y,
dx
let it be operated over the function φ
Solution

d dφ dyφ
[ ]
y,
dx
φ= y −
dx dx

d dφ dφ dy
[ ]
y,
dx
φ= y
dx
− y −φ =0
dx dx

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 d
[ ]
y,
dx
φ=0

Therefore, the operators are commutating since a

commutator is given by a
d
[ ]
y,
dx
=0

iii. Calculate the commutator of the following

d d2
[ ,
dx dx 2 ]
Let it be operated over a function ψ , we have

d d2 d d2 d2 d
[ , 2 ψ=
dx dx ]
dx dx 2
ψ−
dx 2 dx
ψ

d3ψ d3ψ
¿ −
dx3 dx 3

d d2
[ ,
dx dx 2
ψ=0
]
2. Commutator of position and linear momentum operator

i. Find the commutator of the following

[ ^x , ^p ]

Let it be operated over a function ψ , we have

[ ^x , ^p ] ψ =^x ^p ψ−^p ^x ψ

h dψ h d (xψ )
¿x −
2 π i dx 2 π i dx

h dψ h dψ hψ
¿x −x −
2 π i dx 2 π i dx 2 π i

[ ^x , ^p ] ψ =−hψ
2π i

ii. Find the commutator of the following

[ ^x n , ^p ]

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 Let it be operated over a function ψ , we have
[ ^x n , ^p ] ψ= ^x n ^p ψ− ^p ^x n ψ
n
h dψ h d ( x ψ)
¿ xn −
2 π i dx 2 π i dx

n h dψ n h dψ nh x n−1 ψ
¿x −x −
2 π i dx 2 π i dx 2π i
n−1
[ ^x n , ^p ] ψ= −n x hψ
2π i