Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/ib/paper-2/9d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ib Paper 2 9D Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the position-space momentum operator and set . Direct differentiation givesTo compute the squared orbital angular momentum, write , , , so . Expanding the products, including derivatives of their variable coefficients, givesFor example ; summing the three cyclic expressions proves the identity.
Here and , so . ThereforeThis is the angular momentum of a homogeneous harmonic polynomial, with angular quantum numbers . The polynomial is a nonzero angular eigenfunction; by itself it is not a normalizable full-space wavefunction.
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