Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-quantum-physics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2016/7/c/solution
Past exam of the quantum physics course of the University of Oxford 2016 7 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Write . Each term has cancelling components, so . In the formula for , the first three terms contribute . The two ladder products exchange the two terms and contribute another . ThereforeThis spin state is symmetric; the accompanying spatial state must be antisymmetric for two electrons. A labelled product alone is not an eigenstate of spin exchange: its exchanged vector is orthogonal to it. Thus it cannot supply a definite exchange symmetry when multiplied by a fixed symmetric spatial factor.
This does not prohibit opposite spins in different spatial orbitals. For example, with orthonormal orbitals , the Slater determinantis a valid antisymmetric two-electron state. What fails is treating persistent particle labels as physically distinguishable identities without the required antisymmetrization.
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