Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2017 Paper 1 Section B B7 Solution 2026-10-18
Hamiltonian and commutators. Use the canonical commutation relation and define . Expanding the product of the given creation and annihilation operators,Therefore the quantum harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian operator isSimilarly,Using gives
Lowering a normalized energy eigenstate. The commutator impliesFor , nondegeneracy of this one-dimensional energy level means . Its norm is fixed by the number operator:Choosing successive eigenstate phases in the conventional way makes , soFor , the same norm is zero, hence . A nonzero lowered ground state would have energy below the lowest allowed level, and positivity of forbids that possibility.
Coherent-state eigenvalue. Applying the annihilation operator term by term, with the contribution zero, givesThusThe coherent state is normalized because . Its annihilation operator is not Hermitian, so the eigenvalue may be complex.
Time evolution. Under the time-independent Hamiltonian operator, each energy component acquires its own phase:Since , the normalization prefactor is unchanged. HenceThe state remains a coherent state, with its complex parameter rotating at the oscillator's angular frequency; the displayed extra factor is a global phase from the zero-point energy.
Ehrenfest theorem relates the dynamics of quantum expectation values to operator commutators. For a normalized state obeying and a possibly time-dependent observable , differentiate . Using the adjoint Schrödinger equation for the bra givesThusThe identity assumes a common domain on which the required products and derivatives are defined.
For , the canonical commutation relation gives and . ThereforeThese resemble Hamilton's equations and Newton's second law, but generally . If the state is localized about , a local expansion givesThe classical trajectory equation for the mean is accurate when the force changes little across the wave packet. For a quadratic harmonic potential, is linear and this closure is exact for every state with the relevant finite moments: . This exact classical evolution of the centroid does not eliminate its quantum position uncertainty or make every state a point particle.
The correspondence principle is broader: quantum predictions recover classical ones in an appropriate limit, such as large action compared with and observations that cannot resolve individual quantum levels. It is not the assertion that every large quantum number automatically makes every possible state classical. Delocalized superpositions and interference can remain significant unless the physical preparation and measurement justify a classical description.
A spectral example is useful. For a quantum harmonic oscillator, neighboring levels differ by , giving transition frequency , equal to its classical oscillation frequency. A coherent state makes the connection more concrete: its mean position and momentum oscillate classically while the finite-width Gaussian profile retains its quantum uncertainty. For hydrogenic Bohr levels , transitions between nearby large have , which equals the classical circular orbital angular frequency in that model. Ehrenfest's theorem supplies an exact expectation-value bridge; a classical trajectory follows only when the force can also be evaluated at the mean position.
A Hermitian operator satisfies the adjoint symmetry conditionfor vectors in its specified domain. For a finite matrix this means . For an unbounded differential operator, boundary conditions and domains matter: symmetry on a chosen domain is not alone sufficient for self-adjointness. Physical observables require the corresponding self-adjoint operator and its spectral measure. This distinction prevents purely formal integration by parts from being mistaken for a complete operator definition.
Real eigenvalues. If with nonzero norm, Hermiticity impliesso . Thus eigenvalues representing measurement outcomes are real.
Orthogonality. For eigenvectors ,Hence , and distinct eigenvalues have orthogonal eigenvectors. Within a degenerate eigenspace, Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization can choose an orthonormal basis. In finite dimensions the spectral theorem gives a complete orthonormal eigenbasis andwhere projects onto each eigenspace. In infinite dimensions a continuous spectrum may require a spectral integral rather than a normalizable eigenvector for every possible outcome; a position operator on the full line is a familiar example.
Measurements and probabilities. In the discrete case the Born rule assigns probability to the outcome . For a nondegenerate eigenbasis, gives probabilities , withThe variance vanishes precisely when the state lies in an eigenspace with a single sharp outcome. A repeatable ideal projective measurement prepares the corresponding eigenspace; superpositions of different eigenvalues do not have a preassigned sharp value of that observable in this description.
Compatibility and dynamics. Commuting Hermitian matrices admit simultaneous diagonalization, permitting a common set of sharp labels. For example commute, whereas do not. In the differential-operator setting the corresponding spectral compatibility requires appropriate domain conditions. Noncommuting observables obey the Robertson uncertainty principleThe canonical commutation relation then gives .
The Hamiltonian operator represents energy. A self-adjoint generates unitary time evolution, , preserving norm and total probability; its eigenvalues determine stationary-state phases and transition energies. Hermiticity supplies real outcomes and orthogonal eigenspaces, while self-adjointness and the spectral theorem make these measurement and evolution rules mathematically complete.
The commutator is . To evaluate it for differential operators, apply it to a smooth test wavefunction :Thus the canonical commutation relation is . The associated Heisenberg uncertainty relation is . Position and momentum cannot both have arbitrarily sharp outcome distributions in the same prepared state, even with ideal measuring apparatus. This concerns quantum-state preparation, not merely a calibration error in a particular instrument.
Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2018 Paper 1 Section C C10 Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
The postulates of quantum mechanics give a framework for predicting observations from a prepared state. The experiments below motivate different features of that framework; no one experiment proves the whole set of postulates or specifies every Hamiltonian operator.
A pure quantum state is a normalized vector in a complex Hilbert space, with vectors differing by an overall quantum phase representing the same physical preparation. In position representation, . The linear state space permits quantum superposition, while the Born rule assigns probability to a position outcome in a region . The wavefunction is a probability amplitude; it is not a classical distribution of definite particle positions and momenta.
An observable is represented by a self-adjoint operator. If has spectral projectors , its possible measurement outcomes are its spectral values and . The mean is . For an ideal repeatable projective measurement, obtaining leaves the normalized conditional state . This projects onto an entire eigenspace if the outcome is degenerate. General detectors need more general measurement in quantum mechanics models; the projective update is an idealization. Noncommuting observables need not have simultaneous sharp values, as the canonical commutation relation and Heisenberg uncertainty relation illustrate.
Between measurements, an isolated system has unitary time evolution generated by its Hamiltonian operator:This preserves normalization and superpositions. Composite systems use a tensor product of state spaces, allowing entangled states as well as product states; identical particles additionally require the bosonic or fermionic exchange symmetry appropriate to their species. Statistical mixtures are described by a density matrix, with . These rules separate preparation, coherent evolution and measurement.
The photoelectric effect exposes discrete energy transfer by light. Illuminate a clean metal cathode in an evacuated tube and measure the collected electron current while varying the light frequency, intensity and a retarding voltage. The stopping potential probes the largest emitted electron kinetic energy, whereas the photocurrent measures the rate at which charge is collected. In the ordinary single-photon regime there is a threshold frequency; above it the maximum energy grows with frequency, rather than with intensity. Changing intensity at fixed frequency mainly changes the number of emitted electrons. These observations are summarized by the Einstein photoelectric equationHere is the surface work function, and the stopping voltage is understood after any photoelectric contact-potential correction. A photon delivers in an absorption event; emission is allowed only when that energy can pay the escape cost. This accounts for the frequency threshold and the lack of the classical waiting time associated with slowly accumulating energy in a single electron. The experiment supports energy quantization of light; it does not imply that every incident photon emits an electron or that every emitted electron has the maximum energy. Surface losses and collection geometry affect the full current-voltage curve.
The Davisson–Germer experiment demonstrates a complementary wave property of matter. An electron gun uses a heated emitter, accelerating voltage and apertures to send a narrow beam onto a nickel single crystal in vacuum. A movable collector measures scattered electric current versus direction; rotating the crystal also tests its azimuthal symmetry. The crystal gives sharp angular beams whose positions depend on voltage and crystal orientation. A prominent feature occurs near accelerating voltage and roughly detector colatitude. The nonrelativistic de Broglie wavelength predicted at that voltage isDiffraction wavelengths inferred using the known crystal structure agree with this voltage dependence. These angular peaks arise from coherent addition of scattering amplitudes from the crystal, not from classical specular reflection of independent point projectiles. Bragg's law is for lattice-plane spacing and angle to those planes; a detector colatitude is a different angle and must not be substituted without its geometry. The historical readout was current, not a photograph of individual electron trajectories.[ref]
Diffraction of Electrons by a Crystal of Nickel by C. Davisson and L. H. Germer. 1927, apparatus pp. 707–710 and angular/voltage scans pp. 715–719
The double-slit experiment makes the role of amplitudes especially direct. A coherent source illuminates two narrow slits; an observation screen a distance away records the pattern. For slit spacing and small screen displacement , the path difference is approximately . The two amplitudes add before probabilities are formed:For equal coherent illumination the interference term varies as , giving fringe spacing beneath the single-slit diffraction envelope. Blocking one slit removes that cross term. Young's optical experiment established wave interference; later particle-resolved realizations with photons or electrons show localized detection events whose accumulated distribution has the interference pattern. Low arrival rates demonstrate that this pattern does not require different incident particles to collide with one another.
If the paths become correlated with distinguishable detector states and , the cross term acquires their overlap . Perfectly distinguishable path records make that overlap zero, suppressing interference even if the spatial beams still overlap. This connects quantum entanglement, measurement and loss of observable coherence. Without a path measurement, the two alternatives are amplitudes for one preparation, rather than classical mutually exclusive events whose probabilities may simply be added.
Together these experiments motivate a description in which energy transfer and detector outcomes can be discrete, yet propagation retains complex quantum phases and interference. The Born rule connects those amplitudes to repeatable frequencies of outcomes. The Schrödinger equation supplies the dynamics once a Hamiltonian operator is specified, while observable operators, state preparation and the measurement model specify what the apparatus can read.
Let and , so and . The canonical commutation relation givesHence . Similarly,Using the product rule for a commutator, , givesThus is the number operator, while and are the annihilation operator and creation operator.
In the Schrödinger picture, a time-independent Hamiltonian gives , where . The Heisenberg picture transfers this evolution to each observable:Both pictures give the same probabilities and expectation values. Differentiating yields the Heisenberg equation of motionThe last term is an explicit change of the measured operator. If it is absent and , the observable is conserved.
The corresponding classical equation is . The correspondence principle relates the Poisson bracket to , with suitable operator ordering and a classical limit. For , the canonical commutation relation givesTaking means gives Ehrenfest theorem. Its second equation contains , which need not equal . A narrow wave packet in a slowly varying force field can follow the classical equations approximately; a quadratic potential makes the equality exact for the means.
For a quantum harmonic oscillator, direct solution gives and . These have the classical form as operator identities. A coherent state supplies a localized center moving on the classical orbit, whereas an energy eigenstate has stationary density and , even at large excitation. Thus large quantum numbers alone do not create a localized classical trajectory. Classical behavior also concerns state preparation, relative fluctuations and the resolution of the measurements.
An observable is represented by a self-adjoint operator. For an ideal projective measurement, let be its spectral projector for outcome . The Born rule gives , or for a density matrix . Conditional on obtaining , the Lüders rule givesFor a degenerate outcome this projects onto the whole associated eigenspace, rather than arbitrarily selecting a vector within it. An immediate repeated ideal measurement returns the same outcome, provided there is no intervening evolution or disturbance.
Commuting finite-dimensional observables admit a common orthonormal eigenbasis; their projectors commute and ideal joint measurements are compatible. Noncommuting observables generally have no complete common eigenbasis, and measurement order can affect the subsequent statistics. Particular common eigenvectors can nevertheless exist, so a nonzero commutator does not mean that every state has a nonzero uncertainty in both quantities.
For a quantitative constraint, apply the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality to and . The imaginary part of their inner product is , giving the Robertson uncertainty principleThe canonical commutation relation gives . Retaining the real part of the same inner product gives the stronger Robertson-Schrödinger uncertainty relation, including a covariance term. These are constraints on the preparation of a quantum state, not simply statements about a poorly calibrated instrument.
A sequential spin one-half example makes the change in statistics explicit. Prepare . An immediate measurement is certainly positive. If an measurement is inserted first, its outcomes each have probability and leave states . Each then yields either result with probability , so the final positive fraction is . The change reflects projection onto incompatible spin eigenstates, even with ideal measuring apparatus. The theory of measurement in quantum mechanics allows more general state-update rules, but the operator description and the Born rule still constrain their probabilities.
For the harmonic-oscillator number-state second moments, the number operator gives , while the canonical commutation relation gives . Terms with or have zero diagonal matrix elements, since they change the occupation number by two. ThereforeConsequently the potential energy and kinetic energy means areTheir sum is the oscillator energy eigenvalue . Their equality is also the virial theorem result for a quadratic potential, here derived directly from the ladder operators.
Use the canonical commutation relations , with cross-coordinate commutators zero. For either coordinate,Thus . To obtain the required Hamiltonian, the ratio of its position operator and momentum operator coefficients must be preserved:where the positive root follows from the requested signs. ConsequentlyThe annihilation operators are dimensionless; has units of inverse length and has units of inverse momentum. Operators belonging to different coordinates commute automatically. Writing the number operators as , substitution givesThe constant is the sum of the two zero-point energies of this two-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator.
Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 1 Section D D9 Solution 2026-10-18
Time dependence in quantum mechanics describes how a prepared quantum state changes and thereby changes the probabilities of later measurements. For an isolated system, the Schrödinger picture assigns this evolution to a state vector , governed by the Time-dependent Schrödinger equationThe Hamiltonian is a self-adjoint operator; it has units of energy, while has units of action, so has units of inverse time. For a particle with potential energy , this becomesGiven a suitable initial wavefunction and the physical boundary conditions, this first-order equation determines its subsequent propagation. Its linearity means that the evolution of a quantum superposition is the corresponding quantum superposition of evolved states.
For a real potential energy, this equation and its complex conjugate imply the local continuity equationHere is the probability density and the probability current. Vanishing net boundary flux preserves wavefunction normalization, as required by the Born rule.
The time-evolution operator packages the solution for every initial state:Because , differentiation givesTherefore : this is unitary time evolution, preserving inner products and all state norms. It is reversible, with , and obeys the composition law .
For a time-independent Hamiltonian, the solution is the operator exponentialIf the Hamiltonian varies with time, the analogous simple exponential of its integral is valid when for all relevant times. Otherwise time ordering is essential:The meaning is explicit in the first terms of the ordered series,the later-time operator stands on the left. In the position representation, the same propagation is expressed by the quantum-mechanical propagatorIts initial value is the Dirac delta function .
A time-independent Hamiltonian has energy eigenstates satisfying . A single such initial state evolves asIt is a stationary state: its global phase changes, but its probability density and the distributions of time-independent observables do not. Its energy is sharp. Any quantum superposition entirely within one degenerate energy eigenspace also acquires one common global phase and is stationary. Stationarity does not require zero probability current; for instance, on the ring has a constant density and persistent circulation when .
An arbitrary normalized state can instead contain different energy eigenvalues:A continuous spectrum requires corresponding integrals. For the discrete case, an energy measurement gives with fixed probability (summed over degeneracies), but relative quantum phases change with time. ConsequentlyThe interference terms can oscillate at angular frequencies . For two populated energy levels, this supplies a characteristic period when the interference term is nonzero. Thus fixed energy populations do not imply a stationary spatial distribution.
For a normalized state and an observable , its expectation value isThis is the statistical mean over repeated preparations and measurements. In an eigenbasis of energy eigenstates for a time-independent Hamiltonian and a time-independent ,Only matrix elements connecting different energies can generate these oscillations. If , its expectation value is constant for every initial state, provided it has no explicit time dependence.
Differentiating the expectation value and substituting the Schrödinger equation for both the bra and ket proves the general Ehrenfest theorem:Equivalently,These manipulations require the state to lie in the relevant operator domains. Taking gives , so energy is conserved under a time-independent Hamiltonian.
For , the canonical commutation relation givesHence the particularly useful position-and-momentum form of Ehrenfest theorem isIt resembles Newton's second law, but the mean force generally differs from the force at the mean position. If a narrow wave packet samples a region where the force varies little, gives approximate classical motion. For a quadratic potential energy this replacement is exact. In particular the quantum harmonic oscillator obeysThe centroid follows the classical harmonic oscillator, although this does not specify the full evolving wavefunction or its width.
The Heisenberg picture expresses the same physics by assigning evolution to observables instead:The expectation value is unchanged, and differentiation yields . Thus state propagation, evolving expectation values, and the classical correspondence in Ehrenfest theorem are mutually consistent descriptions of the same unitary time evolution.
For each opposite-momentum pair use the Bogoliubov transformationEquivalently , , with . The identity preserves the canonical commutation relation. Vanishing anomalous terms require , and hence the Bogoliubov quasiparticle dispersion isSubstitution and normal ordering giveThis is the requested form after putting each inside the oscillator term. By momentum-pair counting in bosonic diagonalization, all sums cover the full nonzero-momentum set; no further factor of two is needed. The bosonic Bogoliubov zero-point shift combines the two vacuum sums before taking a continuum limit.
If smoothly, the low-energy excitations are gapless phonons:For contact repulsion, the healing length separates this regime from the particle-like regime . Stability requires for every nonzero mode. A general momentum-dependent interaction need not share the contact model's entire curve. An unregularized contact model also makes the vacuum-energy shift ultraviolet divergent; a physical finite-range interaction or scattering-length renormalization is needed for that absolute ground-state energy.
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2016 2 a Solution 2026-10-25
Write and . Insert the mode expansion of a free field for each quantity into the commutator. Only the mixed creation operator and annihilation operator terms survive. The Dirac delta function in their canonical commutation relation sets the two momenta equal, so the square-root factors multiply to :In the second equality, each Fourier transform is the same Dirac delta function, since the integration domain is invariant under . This is the equal-time canonical commutation relation. The analogous calculation gives , because their two mixed terms have opposite signs.
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2017 1 d Solution 2026-10-25
The two oscillator families commute with each other. Their canonical commutation relations giveBoth terms in the mode expansion of a free field therefore acquire the same factor, givingThe Noether charge is the generator of the internal symmetry. In the active-operator convention , repeated commutators giveThe sign agrees with part b. A negative sign for would correspond to the opposite current convention, not to the current used here. Subtracting a multiple of the identity from to fix the vacuum Noether charge has no effect on this generator relation.
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2018 1 b Solution 2026-10-25
The canonical momenta are , soDifferent species commute at equal times, so these products have no ordering ambiguity and is Hermitian. Write . Substituting the mode expansion of a free field and using the spatial Fourier transform identity givesSubtract the expression with species interchanged. The two-annihilator terms cancel after , as do the two-creator terms. Commuting different species in the remaining terms yieldsThere is no infinite vacuum contribution to the Noether charge to subtract: the contractions that would generate a species-diagonal constant are absent.
The bosonic canonical commutation relations giveDefine the creation operatorsTheir commutators with are . Since , the one-particle states haveThe fixed-momentum states are delta-function normalized; a square-integrable wave packet of either species is a normalizable state with the same Noether charge eigenvalue. In this basis , so it measures a difference of occupation numbers. The equal-time identity , independently checks the sign against a.
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2019 1 c Solution 2026-10-25
Define and . The Hermitian quantum field has the mode expansion of a free fieldwhere the annihilation operators and creation operators obey the bosonic canonical commutation relationsBecause , its mode expansion of a free field isThe two nonzero cross commutators then giveand the equal-time field-field and momentum-momentum commutators vanish. This verifies the factor without requiring Lorentz invariance.
Substitution into the Hamiltonian, followed by normal ordering, yieldsConsequently : one application of a creation operator adds precisely the required quasiparticle energy. Before normal ordering there is the usual constant zero-point vacuum energy. If , the exactly zero-momentum mode has and is a free canonical coordinate, not an oscillator with a normalizable oscillator vacuum state; in a finite box handle that mode separately or introduce a small positive mass. The formula applies directly to all modes with .
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2020 2 a Solution 2026-10-25
Write and . The nonzero canonical commutation relations arewith cross-species brackets zero. The commutator product rule givesLinearity of the commutator now yields, for the real coefficient ,Strictly, the printed contains an infinite constant in continuum Fock space. Work first with finitely many modes, or replace it by its normal ordering . Their difference is a constant, so every displayed commutator and every conjugation below is unchanged. The latter convention fixes the vacuum state phase without an infinite phase ambiguity.
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2021 2 b Solution 2026-10-25
The canonical anticommutation relations arewith the mixed and equal-type anticommutators zero. Insert the mode expansion of a Dirac field. The phases cancel at equal time, and a givesSince , the requested componentwise answer isThis is the Equal-time canonical anticommutator of a Dirac field: the canonical momentum conjugate to is . It is the fermionic counterpart of the canonical field canonical commutation relation, ensuring the correct local canonical quantization. For this first-order Lagrangian density, the conjugate variables are constrained; the displayed relation is the standard result after handling that constraint. It does not assert a nonzero anticommutator between the fields at separated spatial points.
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2024 1 a Solution 2026-10-25
Write . The canonical commutation relations and the product rule for a commutator giveThe other-species terms vanish. Integrating the Dirac delta distributions in the Hamiltonian therefore giveswhere . Consequently the complex scalar field satisfiesDirect differentiation of the time factors gives the same expression, proving the Heisenberg equation of motion
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2024 1 b Solution 2026-10-25
Both a particle and its antiparticle carry the momentum of their mode label. Thus the normal-ordered total momentum operator isThe canonical commutation relations giveThe minus sign in the antiparticle mode label is essential: both terms in the printed mode expansion of a free field contain . Hence
