Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-quantum-mechanics-quantum-theory-and-quantum-computers-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/a/4/solution

Take a normalized vector in the required common operator domains. Expanding the squared norm and using self-adjointness gives
Thus its final term is . Set , , . If , minimizing the nonnegative quadratic at gives
Equality holds precisely when the minimum norm vanishes, that is . If , however, then and , so equality is automatic even when . The printed equality criterion needs this zero-vector exception. For example , , saturates the inequality but admits no such real . The exact general criterion is linear dependence of together with vanishing real part of their inner product, as in the uncentered second-moment commutator inequality.
Apply the same calculation to , , whose commutator is unchanged. This gives the Robertson uncertainty principle
If is an eigenvector of , its dispersion is zero; finite dispersion of then forces .
In the position representation, and . The product rule gives , hence . Since commutes with ,
For an energy eigenstate, , so . For the oscillator , and the same argument gives . These expectation identities require the stated finite moments and commutator domains; formal position eigenvectors are not normalizable exceptions.
Apply the Robertson uncertainty principle to each angular-momentum pair:
If is an eigenvector of , then . The inequalities for and force , assuming the relevant moments exist.

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