Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 323 1 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The partial transpose of the spin singlet state projector is the Hermitian operatorFor every separable quantum state , the positive partial transpose criterion and the trace-adjoint identity for partial transpose giveFor the specified Bell state, however,Thus is an entanglement witness detecting . In fact, it detects any state whose overlap with that Bell state exceeds .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 312 1 i Solution 2026-09-28
Under spatial reflection, a scalar field obeys , and hence each spatial derivative changes sign. The interaction contains three such derivatives, so changing the integration variable from to givesThus this is a parity-odd scalar interaction.
Put and . Hermitian conjugation and commutativity of equal-time scalar fields giveThe parity-invariant vacuum and the odd parity of imply . ThereforeThere is no conflict with the usual rule for two Hermitian operators: a momentum-space product at fixed is generally not itself Hermitian, since its adjoint carries momenta .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 325 4 Solution 2026-09-28
For particle positions , the two-particle Schrodinger equation isWrite for the localized wave packet and . Neglecting packet spreading and branch overlap, the initial product state evolves branchwise asup to phases generated independently on the two particles. These branch-dependent phases generally cannot be separated into one phase depending only on and one depending only on , so the Newtonian gravitational potential energy creates gravitationally induced entanglement.
If is much smaller than the other separations, remove their nearly common phase and retain onlyThe state is approximatelyIts concurrence is , so it becomes maximally entangled first at . For ,Thus the near-maximal entanglement time is about within the stated approximation.
A single prescribed classical gravitational potential gives a Hamiltonian of the form . Its evolution factorizes as and preserves every initial product state, so it cannot generate this entanglement. A semiclassical mean field sourced only by expectation values likewise gives each particle a local one-body potential and does not provide a quantum mediator carrying branch correlations.
An entanglement witness is a Hermitian operator whose expectation is nonnegative on every separable state but negative on at least one entangled state. At , defineThe largest Schmidt coefficient of is , so every product state in the four-dimensional branch subspace satisfies . By closure under convex combinations, for every separable mixture, whereasA negative measured value therefore certifies entanglement. Under the assumptions that the masses began unentangled and interacted only through gravity, such certification would show that the mediator can transmit quantum coherence; it would be evidence against a purely classical gravitational channel and for the quantum nature of gravity.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 34B a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Set . The off-diagonal Hermiticity identity holds automatically, whilemust be real. Thusis necessary and sufficient. For , put . Since the two normalized spanning vectors are linearly independent, .
The normalized eigenvectors and eigenvalues areDirect application of verifies the eigenvalue equations. Their unnormalized inner product isso the distinct eigenvectors are orthogonal, as required for a Hermitian operator. If , and every vector is an eigenvector.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 323 3 ii a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
A real function on is an operator convex function when, for all Hermitian operators whose spectra lie in and every ,where is the Loewner order. Reversing the inequality defines an operator concave function, equivalently is operator convex.
Positive operator Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
A bounded Hermitian operator on a Hilbert space is positive when for every . Its spectrum is contained in .
Positive part of a Hermitian operator 2026-10-06
For a Hermitian operator with spectral decomposition , its positive part is . It is a positive operator supported on the positive spectral subspace. Together with the negative part of a Hermitian operator it satisfies and .
Quantum spectral filtering 2026-10-06
Let a Hermitian operator have dyadic eigenvalues in for known , with controlled access to the unitary operator . This interval ensures that different eigenvalues have different eigenphases; exact representability alone would not exclude phase aliasing, as and both give phase zero. Let a real function obey , and assume the required quantum variable rotations are available. Coherent exact quantum phase estimation, a quantum variable rotation and uncomputation implementPostselection on flag one gives normalized, with probability , provided this vector is nonzero. Erasing the eigenvalue label by uncomputation is essential to preserve coherence between different eigenvectors. On this dyadic spectrum, gives , so reversing the phase-estimation gates is possible using forward controlled- calls. The choice multiplies by ; a scaled reciprocal gives the different filter used in the HHL algorithm.
If a Fermi interaction contains vector and axial operators with the same time-reversal symmetry component signs, antiunitarity conjugates their coupling constants without exchanging the two operators. After removing a common field phase, invariance requires real when . Equivalently . Fixed intrinsic phases can additionally constrain the common phase; the relative condition is independent of that choice. Adding a Hermitian-conjugate interaction guarantees a Hermitian operator Hamiltonian, but does not guarantee time-reversal symmetry.
Trace norm Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
The trace norm of a finite-dimensional operator is the sum of its singular values:For a Hermitian operator , it equals .
A Hermitian operator satisfies . Each diagonal entry of in an eigenbasis of lies between minus one and one, giving the upper bound . The sign operator of attains it. The substitution converts this formula to optimization over binary POVM effects and proves the Holevo–Helstrom theorem.