Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/ii/paper-4/32c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 32C Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Define interaction-picture states by and . Differentiation cancels the free Hamiltonian operator and yieldsAssume the interaction is switched off sufficiently fast in the remote past for the following integral to converge. Starting in , the first iteration of the integral equation givesfor . The picture change only multiplies the measured amplitude by a phase. Squaring therefore givesFor the harmonic oscillator, is normalized and . The energy difference is , andHence the lowest nonzero transition probability isThe stronger remainder here follows from parity: every insertion of reverses oscillator parity, so the amplitude between and has only odd powers of . The general displayed estimate remains valid.
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