Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/paper-2/section-b/b7/solution
Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2010 Paper 2 Section B B7 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Writing , where and , the canonical commutation relation givesConsequently and . If were nonzero, this commutator would make it an energy eigenstate with energy , contradicting the lowest-energy property. Therefore .
The commutator product rule and induction giveActing on the vacuum and shifting the sum then shows that the unnormalized bosonic coherent state satisfies .
The displayed series lacks its wavefunction normalization factor. Since , its squared norm is . The normalized coherent state needed for the stated expectation values isUse , , and . For , ,The displacement changes the mean position but not its ground-state uncertainty. Unnormalized bras and kets give the same physical expectation values only after division by their squared norm.
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