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Lecture #5

Today’s Program:

1. Review: Fourth postulate discrete spectrum


2. Fourth postulate continuous spectrum
3. Fifth postulate and discussion of implications to time evolution
4. Average quantities
5. Position eigenvectors
6. Physical interpretation of ψ ( x0 )
2

7. Commutation relations
8. Commuting observables
9. Commutation of X and P operators
10. Physical implications – simultaneous measurements

Questions you will by able to answer by the end of today’s lecture

1. What are the position observables’ eigenfunctions and eigenvalues?


2. Given a wave function for a particle what is the probability of finding the particle
as a function of spatial coordinates.
3. Why can’t we measure the position and momentum simultaneously?
4. know how to check if two operators commute.
5. Why can’t we measure the position and momentum simultaneously?

Math tools covered today


1. The Dirac Delta function (see handout).
2. Commutation of operators.
3. Properties of operators that commute (common eigenfunctions)
Review of last lecture: Example from vector space:
We have a state:
 0
ψ = 
1
We’d like to predict the result of a physical measurement (energy) associated with the
following operator:
1 2
Hˆ =  
2 1 

What are the possible outcomes of the energy measurement?



1 1
λ1 = −1, u1 =  
2  −1
1 1
λ2 = 3, u 2 =  
2 1

 0 r r r r r r 1 1  1  1 1 1
ψ =   → u1 ψ u1 + u2 ψ u2 = −  +  
 1  12c1
3 123
c2
2 2  −1
1424 3
2 2 1
123
r r
u1 u2

The probability of obtaining the measurement


2

1 1 1 1 1 1 1  1 1
P ( λ1 ) = u1 ψ (1, −1) ⋅ (1, −1)
2
=−  +   =
14243
2 2 2  − 1 2 2 2  1 2
r∗
1424
r
3 123
r
u1 u1 u2
Fourth Postulate (continuous non-degenerate): When the physical quantity a is
r
measured on a system in the normalized state ψ ( r , t ) the probability dP ( a ) of obtaining

a result between α → a + dα is

dP (α ) = uα ( x ) ψ ( x )
2

where uα ( x ) is the normalized eigenvector of A associated with the eigenvalue α .

Fifth Postulate (discrete non-degenerate):


If the measurement of a physical quantity a on the system in the state ψ ( rr, t ) gives the
result an the state of the system immediately after the measurement is un ( x ) .

u n ( x, t 0 ) ψ ′ ( x, t1 )

ψ ( x,0 ) ψ ( x, t0 )

Consequences:
(i) The state of the system right after a measurement is always an eigenvector
corresponding to the specific eigenvalue which was the result of the measurement.
(ii) The state of the system is fundamentally perturbed by the measurement process.
Average quantities (or what would be the average result of physical measurement
performed over many identical states)
The average of a physical quantity represented by  of a system in state ψ is given by-

ψ Â ψ

An example:
ψ Hˆ ψ =
ψ = c1 u1 + c2 u2 + c3 u3 + ... + cn un
where,
Hˆ un = En un
ψ Hˆ ψ = ( c1∗ u1 + c2∗ u2 + c3∗ u3 + ...c4∗ u4 ) Hˆ ( c1 u1 + c2 u2 + c3 u3 + ...cn un )=
= ( c1∗ u1 + c2∗ u2 + c3∗ u3 + ...c4∗ u4 )(c E
1 1 u1 + c2 E2 u2 + c3 E3 u3 + ...cn En un )=
= c1∗c1 E1 + c2∗ c2 E2 + c3∗c3 E3 + cn∗ cn En
= c1 E1 + c2 E2 + c3 E3 + ... + cn En
2 2 2 2

= P ( E1 ) E1 + P ( E2 ) E2 + P ( E3 ) E3 + ... + P ( En ) En
= Hˆ = E

Example
What are the position observable’s X eigenvalues and eigenfunctions in the x
representation? – how can we capture the fact that our particle is at a particular position
x0 ?
Look back at the definition of eigenvectors of an operator.
X̂u = x0u
we also know that the definition of the position operator (observable) is:
Xˆψ ( x ) = xψ ( x ) → u x0 ( x ) = δ ( x − x0 )

where the Dirac δ function is defined as:


∫ δ ( x − x )ψ ( x ) dx = ψ ( x )
−∞
0 0

Discuss the physical reasoning behind the choice of the dirac delta function.
What are the momentum observables’ P eigenvalues and eigenfunctions in the x
representation?
P̂u ( x ) = p0u ( x )
h ∂
u ( x ) = p0u ( x )
i ∂x
The free particles’ solution eikx is a momentum eigenstate since:
h ∂ ikx
e = h{k eikx = peikx
i ∂x ≡p

This leads to the physical interpretation of the wavefunction squared….


When the position (corresponding to the observable X) is measured on a system in the
r
normalized state ψ ( r , t ) the probability dP ( x0 ) of obtaining a result between

x0 → x0 + dx0 is

∞ 2

dP ( x0 ) = u x0 ( x ) ψ ( x ) ∫ δ ( x − x )ψ ( x ) dx = ψ ( x0 ) dx0
2 2
dx0 = 0
−∞

which is the probability density.

Commutation
Definition:
Two observables commute if

AB ˆ ˆ →  Aˆ , Bˆ  ≡ AB
ˆ ˆ = BA ˆ ˆ − BA
ˆˆ=0
 
Do X and P commute?

 Xˆ , Pˆ ψ ( x ) = x h ∂ ψ ( x ) − h ∂ ( xψ ( x ) )
  i ∂x i ∂x
h ∂ h h ∂
=x ψ ( x) − ψ ( x) − x ψ ( x)
i ∂x i i ∂x
= ihψ ( x )
→  Xˆ , Pˆ  = ih
Fundamental theorem (from algebra): If two operators A and B commute one can
construct a basis of the state space with eigenvectors common to A and B

Important Consequences:
A. One cannot measure X, P simultaneously!
Explanation: Once one performs a position measurement the system has to be in a
position eigenstate.

Let’s try to rationalize this by an example pertaining to the infinite well: In this example
the particle is going to be described by a localized wave function f(x) described below
centered around x0 and of width ε

f ( x)
1
ε

x0 x
ε

Note: check if this function satisfies the definition of the delta function at the limit ε → 0
∞ ∞

∫−∞ δ ( x − x0 ) f ( x ) dx ; f ( x0 ) −∞∫ δ ( x − x0 )dx


ε ε

1442443
=1
by construction

The energy eigenfunctions are of the following form:


 2 2 nπ x
 n odd cos kn x = cos
 d d d
un ( x ) = 
n even 2 2 nπ x
 sin kn x = sin
d d d
2mEn nπ
kn = =
h2 d
For simplicity we will assume that the particle is located around the origin, now we can
expand the wavefunction in terms of energy eigenfunctions:


2 nπ x
f ( x ) = ∑ cn cos
n =1 d d
ε

2 nπ x 2
1 2 nπ x
cn = f ( x ) cos = ∫ε cos dx
d d ε d d

2

ε 2 nπε
sin
1 d 2 nπ x 2 2 nπε d d2
= s in = sin =
ε nπ d d −ε d d2 nπε
2
d2
A parameter which represents the degree of confinement is:
ε
let us now consider two limiting cases
d
ε ε
= 1 low confinement, and << 1 high confinement
d d

B. The effects of symmetry on the properties of the eigenfunctions.


Define a parity operator:
ˆ ψ ( x) =ψ (−x)
Π

Find the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of this operator:


ˆ u ( x ) = λu ( x ) → ΠΠ
Π ˆ ˆ u ( x ) = λλu ( x ) = u ( x ) → λ = ±1

The eigenvectors of the parity operator all have definite parity either odd or even.
f ( − x ) = f ( x ) even
f ( − x ) = − f ( x ) odd

Look at the infinite well problem does H commute with the parity operator?
Know that
h2 ∂ h2 ∂
− + V ( x ) = − +V (−x)
2m ∂x 2
2m ∂ ( − x ) 2

Π
 ( )
ˆ , Vˆ Xˆ  = Π
 ( ) ( )
ˆ Vˆ Xˆ − Vˆ Xˆ Πˆ =?

Π ( ) ( )
ˆ Vˆ Xˆ ψ ( x ) − Vˆ Xˆ Π
ˆ ψ ( x) = Π
ˆ V ( x )ψ ( x ) − V ( x )ψ ( − x )

= V ( − x )ψ ( − x ) − V ( x )ψ ( − x ) = 0

Which means that that one can always find a set of eigenfunctions which are common to
both H and Π .

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