Past exam of the advanced quantum physics course of the University of Cambridge / 2018 / Section B

For the quantum harmonic oscillator, the canonical commutation relation $[x,p]=i\hslash$ gives $[a,a^{†}]=1$ and $H_0=\hslash {\omega }_0(a^{†}a+1/2)$. Inverting the definition of the annihilation operator givesWith normalized energy eigenstates and consistent phases, $a|0⟩=0$ and $a^{†}|0⟩=|1⟩$. Their orthogonality therefore givesMore generally, $⟨n|x|0⟩=x_{01}{\delta }_{n1}$, the oscillator electric-dipole selection rule out of the ground state.

To derive the transition amplitude, insert the expansion in stationary energy eigenstates into the Schrödinger equation with $H=H_0+V_1(t)$. The derivatives of the explicit phases cancel the $H_0$ terms. Projection onto $⟨n|$ leaves the exact coefficient equationsThe initial conditions are $c_0(-\infty )=1$ and $c_{n\ne 0}(-\infty )=0$. To first order in the perturbation, replace the amplitudes on the right by these initial values. Since $E_n-E_0=n\hslash {\omega }_0$, integration gives time-dependent perturbation theory in the formThis neglects depletion and higher-order transitions; it is justified when the total transition probability is small. Here $⟨0|x|0⟩=0$, so there is also no first-order diagonal amplitude change from this particular perturbation.

For the exponential electric field, the electric-dipole interaction is $V_1=-qEx{e}^{t/\tau }$, with $\tau >0$. Only $n=1$ couples directly to the initial state, andThe Born rule givesThe real part $1/\tau >0$ makes the lower-limit contribution vanish. ThusSet $u={\omega }_0\tau$ and $\eta =qE{x}_{01}/(\hslash {\omega }_0)$. The dimensionless form is $p_1/{\eta }^2=u^2/(1+u^2)$, increasing monotonically from zero to one, with half the asymptotic value at $u=1$. A sufficient weak-field condition for the entire curve is $|\eta |\ll 1$.

For ${\omega }_0\tau \ll 1$, the force has acted for too little time to appreciably change the state at the instant of measurement. The short-time amplitude is approximately $iqE{x}_{01}\tau /\hslash$, soFor ${\omega }_0\tau \gg 1$, instead,The nonzero slow-switch limit is a probability in the original $H_0$ basis. It does not contradict the adiabatic theorem. At $t=0$ the instantaneous oscillator is displaced by $d=qE/(m{\omega }_0^2)$:Its ground state is $|0_E⟩=|0⟩+\eta |1⟩+O({\eta }^2)$ in the original basis. Adiabatic following therefore predicts exactly the finite original-basis limit found above.

The exponential switch-on of a driven quantum oscillator also permits an exact check. A linear force preserves a coherent state, with original-basis displacement $\alpha (0)=i\eta u/(1+iu)$. Thus the exact original-basis probability is $|\alpha {|}^2{e}^{-|\alpha {|}^2}$, whose weak-field limit is the expression above. In the instantaneous displaced basis the mean excitation is instead $|\alpha -\eta {|}^2={\eta }^2/(1+u^2)$ and does tend to zero for slow switching. The two bases measure different notions of excitation.

Take a normalized spin one-half state in the $S_z$ eigenbasis. Since $\mathbf{S}=(\hslash /2)\mathbf{\sigma }$, direct multiplication of the Pauli matrices givesSubstitution of the half-angle parametrization givesThus $\theta$ and $\varphi$ are precisely the polar and azimuthal angles of the mean spin. Two complex coefficients contain four real parameters; normalization removes one and an unobservable common quantum phase removes another. The resulting pure states form the Bloch sphere. One may choose $\alpha$ real and nonnegative away from the patch where $\alpha =0$. At the poles the azimuth is redundant. The length $|⟨\mathbf{S}⟩|=\hslash /2$ should not be confused with $\sqrt{⟨S^2⟩}=\sqrt{3}\hslash /2$.

For a spatial plane wave, $-i\hslash \nabla$ becomes $\hslash \mathbf{k}$, so the Hamiltonian operator reduces to the Weyl Hamiltonian matrixDefine $\mathbf{n}=(\sin \theta \cos \varphi ,\sin \theta \sin \varphi ,\cos \theta )$ and ${\chi }_{+}=(\cos (\theta /2),e^{i\varphi }\sin (\theta /2){)}^{\mathsf{T}}$. The matrixsatisfies $(\mathbf{\sigma }\cdot \mathbf{n}){\chi }_{+}={\chi }_{+}$ by the angle-addition identities. Consequently the displayed spinor is an energy eigenstate for either $\mathbf{k}=+k\mathbf{n}$ or $\mathbf{k}=-k\mathbf{n}$, with respective energies $+\hslash vk$ and $-\hslash vk$, for $k\ge 0$. Equivalently, at each fixed nonzero wavevector the two branches areIf $v<0$, the two energy labels exchange; the ordered eigenvalues are $\pm \hslash |v||\mathbf{k}|$. Taking $v>0$ sets the convention in the sketches. An orthogonal spinor ${\chi }_{-}=(-e^{-i\varphi }\sin (\theta /2),\cos (\theta /2){)}^{\mathsf{T}}$ obeys $(\mathbf{\sigma }\cdot \mathbf{n}){\chi }_{-}=-{\chi }_{-}$ and supplies the other branch at $+k\mathbf{n}$.

The Pauli matrix multiplication law independently gives $H(\mathbf{k}{)}^2=(\hslash v{)}^2|\mathbf{k}{|}^{2}I$. The dispersion relation is therefore a pair of cones touching at zero energy and momentum; a signed straight-line cut has upper and lower branches $\pm \hslash v|k_x|$. In the $k_z=0$ plane, $\theta =\pi /2$, and the upper-branch mean spin points radially outwards, the lower-branch spin radially inwards. This is spin-momentum locking, not a tangential spin texture. At the touching point the two states are degenerate and the spin direction is not selected by the Hamiltonian operator.

Now let a spatially constant perturbation have matrix $V=\left(\begin{array}{cc}u& w\\ w^{\ast }& z\end{array}\right)$, with $u,z$ real. The Hermitian two-by-two matrix in the Pauli basis decomposition follows explicitly fromwhere $d=(u+z)/2$, $c=(u-z)/2$, $a=\mathrm{Re}w$, and $b=-\mathrm{Im}w$ are real. Equivalently, $d=\mathrm{tr}V/2$ and $(a,b,c{)}_i=\mathrm{tr}(V{\sigma }_i)/2$. The four matrices are linearly independent under the trace inner product and span the four-dimensional real vector space of Hermitian two-by-two matrices.

Spatial constancy means the perturbation does not mix different wavevectors, so each momentum sector can still be diagonalized independently. Write $\mathbf{b}=(a,b,c)$. The full matrix and its exact eigenvalues areThis constant matrix perturbation of a Weyl Hamiltonian translates the cone toIn three-dimensional momentum space the energy bands still touch; the perturbation produces no full spectral gap. The new branch spin directions are parallel and antiparallel to $\hslash v\mathbf{k}+\mathbf{b}$, so their radial texture is centered on the shifted point.

A restricted cut must be distinguished from the full dispersion relation. In the fixed plane $k_z=0$, the energies are $d\pm \sqrt{(\hslash v{k}_x+a{)}^2+(\hslash v{k}_y+b{)}^2+c^2}$, with minimum branch separation $2|c|$. This plane misses the crossing if $c\ne 0$. Along any line through ${\mathbf{k}}_{\ast }$ the dispersion relation still crosses linearly. Thus a sketch of a gapped fixed-plane cut alone would not describe the gapless three-dimensional Hamiltonian operator. The cone after a general perturbation is also no longer a function of $|\mathbf{k}|$ about the old origin alone.

For physical spin ladder operators, $S_j^{\pm }=S_j^x\pm i{S}_j^y$. Operators at distinct sites commute. Expanding the two products cancels their cross terms and givesAdding the remaining component provesFor spin one-half, $S^{+}|\downarrow ⟩=\hslash |\uparrow ⟩$, $S^{-}|\uparrow ⟩=\hslash |\downarrow ⟩$, and raising an up spin or lowering a down spin gives zero. These formulas restore the physical $\hslash$ factors implicit in the dimensionless ladder hint.

Let $|n⟩$ abbreviate the state with the only down spin at site $n$, keeping $|{\psi }_0⟩$ for the fully up state. If $n$ lies on neither end of bond $(j,j+1)$, that bond contains two up spins. The ladder terms vanish, while $S_j^z{S}_{j+1}^z$ gives ${\hslash }^2/4$. ThusFor a down spin at $j$, the $z$ product is instead $-{\hslash }^2/4$, and $S_j^{+}{S}_{j+1}^{-}$ moves it to $j+1$ with amplitude ${\hslash }^2$. For a down spin at $j+1$, the other ladder product moves it back. ThereforeEvery bond in $|{\psi }_0⟩$ is aligned, so summing its $N$ bond energies givesThis is indeed a ground-state energy: a pair of spin-one-half particles has ${\mathbf{S}}_j\cdot {\mathbf{S}}_{j+1}$ eigenvalues ${\hslash }^2/4$ and $-3{\hslash }^2/4$, so each ferromagnetic bond is bounded below by $-J/4$, simultaneously attained by the fully aligned state. The isotropic Heisenberg model has a whole maximum-total-spin ground multiplet, not a unique all-up ground state.

In the single-excitation subspace, only the two bonds adjacent to the down spin differ from the aligned background. Their diagonal energy increase is $J$, and each neighboring hop has amplitude $-J/2$. Hence, with periodic site indices,This is an exact finite-dimensional hopping problem. Choose the active one-site translation convention $T|n⟩=|n+1⟩$. A periodic plane-wave coefficient pattern requires $e^{iq(n+N)a}=e^{iqna}$, soThere are $N$ independent such wavevectors, for example one set of $N$ consecutive integers $\ell$ in a Brillouin zone. The normalized one-magnon Bloch states on a ring are $|q⟩=N^{-1/2}{\sum }_{n=1}^N{e}^{iqna}|n⟩$. Reindexing with the periodic coefficient condition gives $T|q⟩=e^{-iqa}|q⟩$ and hence $T^N|q⟩=|q⟩$.

There is a logical qualification to the condition stated in the paper. On an $N$-site ring $T^N=I$ already holds for every state. In particular, the finite sum written with an arbitrary real $q$ also returns to itself after $N$ translations; that condition alone does not quantize $q$. The displayed allowed values are the ones for which the ansatz is a single one-site translation eigenstate, equivalently a consistently periodic plane wave. This is the additional condition needed for the subsequent energy-eigenstate argument. Other $q$ values generally describe superpositions of the allowed momentum modes.

Apply the hopping Hamiltonian operator and shift the summation index using periodic boundary condition. The coefficients from $|n-1⟩$ and $|n+1⟩$ are respectively $e^{iqa}$ and $e^{-iqa}$ times the original coefficient. Thusand the nearest-neighbour ferromagnetic magnon dispersion isThe unnormalized state in the question has the same energy. Distinct allowed momenta are orthogonal, since $N^{-1}{\sum }_n{e}^{i(q-q^{\prime })na}={\delta }_{q{q}^{\prime }}$ over one set of representatives.

For large $N$ the sampled wavevectors become dense, and the requested sketch is the periodic curve $[E(q)-E_0]/J=1-\cos (qa)$ over $-2\pi <qa<2\pi$. It has a zero at $q=0$ and tends to the equivalent zero at either open endpoint; maxima $2J$ occur at $q=\pm \pi /a$. Near any equivalent zero,using $q$ measured from that zero. The low-momentum ferromagnetic magnon is quadratic, with group velocity ${\hslash }^{-1}dE/dq=(Ja/\hslash )\sin (qa)$. The $q=0$ state is proportional to the total spin lowering operator acting on $|{\psi }_0⟩$, so it belongs to the same ground multiplet and has exactly zero excitation energy. Extending the plot beyond one reciprocal period repeats states rather than adding new independent modes. The lattice spacing $a$ is the nearest-neighbor chord length specified in the paper; $Na$ is the translation length in this lattice description, not necessarily the continuous circumference of a circular arrangement.