Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2006/ii/paper-4/32a/solution

Let be the unitary Schrödinger propagator. The Heisenberg state is fixed at its initial value, while . Since , matrix elements and probabilities agree exactly in the two pictures. Differentiating, for an operator with no explicit Schrödinger-time dependence, gives
For constant Hamiltonian operator, and .
A spatial rotation is represented by , where is the total angular momentum operator. For a particle . The commutators and give
These are the correct infinitesimal vector rotations, verifying the generator and sign.
For the specified Hamiltonian operator, and commute with every . Moreover
by antisymmetry. Thus and every total-angular-momentum component is constant in the Heisenberg picture. The separate torques are
They cancel but need not vanish individually, so orbital and spin angular momentum are generally not separately conserved.

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