Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/iii/paper-58/4/b/solution

The Pauli matrices act by , , , and . Consequently swaps with and with . The plus combinations are its eigenvectors, and the minus combinations its eigenvectors. Meanwhile is on the even-parity basis vectors and on the odd-parity ones. Thus, with the paper's labels,
This verifies all four Bell states directly. The two observables commute: on each factor, so the two minus signs cancel in their tensor products. Their joint eigenvalues distinguish the four states, as used in a Bell-basis measurement.

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