Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2004 / ib / Paper 2 / 8D (Quantum Mechanics)

The two given energy eigenstates are orthonormal. Resolve the initial state as $\psi (0)=\cos \theta {\psi }_0-\sin \theta {\psi }_1$. The Schrödinger equation therefore givesThe second component, which is the probability amplitude for the requested final state, is $\sin \theta \cos \theta (e^{-i{E}_{0}t/\hslash }-e^{-i{E}_{1}t/\hslash })$. By the Born rule,This includes $P(t)=0$ when the energy eigenvalues coincide or when the initial state is itself an energy eigenstate.