Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-physics-ii-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/4/d/solution
Past exam of the theoretical physics II course of the University of Cambridge 2018 4 d Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
The annihilation operator associated with the new coordinate isAs the initial state is the old vacuum,Equivalently, applying to the number-state expansion in part (c) and shifting its summation index returns times the same state. It is therefore a coherent state of the displaced oscillator.
The new Hamiltonian is . In the Schrödinger picture its evolution givesConsequentlyThe displayed prefactor is only a global phase. Equivalently, in the Heisenberg picture . The mean occupation is constant, and reproduces the energy above the new minimum found in part (b). Its mean position and momentum likewise reproduce that part's oscillating wavepacket centre.
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