Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-physics-ii-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/paper-1/1/c/solution
Past exam of the theoretical physics II course of the University of Cambridge 2015 Paper 1 1 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
For the axis-angle composition of orthogonal spin rotations, set and . Multiplication, including , givesOne checks that . For , chooseThis choice retains the full spinor sign and gives . Repeated periods have the same axis:Thus the spin expectation vector rotates through , interpreted modulo as a spatial rotation. The positive component comes from the stated ordering; reversing the two rotations changes that component's sign.
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