Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-quantum-mechanics-quantum-theory-and-quantum-computers-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2010/a/3/solution
Past exam of the quantum mechanics quantum theory and quantum computers course of the University of Oxford 2010 A 3 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
For a normalized state and a self-adjoint operator, the expectation value and dispersion areUse the physics convention that the inner product is conjugate-linear in its first argument, and assume the displayed products and second moments are defined. Self-adjointness gives , so the expectation is real. MoreoverIt vanishes exactly when is an eigenstate, with eigenvalue its expectation.
The product rule gives and , hence on their common differentiable domain. For general operators, put . ThenThe Cauchy-Schwarz inequality yieldsApply this to centered position and momentum operators, whose commutator is unchanged. Their squared norms are the variances, givingEquality requires both proportionality in Cauchy-Schwarz and a purely imaginary inner product. Thus for real means ,with real . Solving this first-order equation givesNormalizability on the real line forces . Writing , all normalized equality states are thereforeThey have and . A nonconstant quadratic phase would increase the product, so the full family here has a real positive Gaussian width and only a linear spatial phase.
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