Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 61 2 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For each fixed phase , the single-transition Quantum Hamiltonian is , so its generators at different times commute. Its exact propagator depends only on . On the active two-level subspace, ; on the spectator state, . Thus it is an embedded two-level quantum rotation, not an involution on the whole three-dimensional space. Explicitly,The spectator entries in both matrices are exactly one; the converted TeX damages the second matrix, so these entries use the PDF.
The proposed combined exponential is false in general for two independent envelopes. Direct multiplication givessoThe constant pulse-axis condition for removing time ordering holds if both envelopes are proportional to the same function, but not for generic independent controls. For example, turn on only the first transition, then only the second. The result is , whose Baker--Campbell--Hausdorff formula includes a nonzero commutator correction, rather than simply .
There is also a literal source defect: the PDF's right-hand exponent omits the factor on its second term. With it would give , which has eigenvalues and is not unitary for real nonzero , whereas the true propagator is unitary. Even after repairing that missing factor, time ordering is still necessary unless the commutators vanish.