Past exam of the quantum theory course of the University of Oxford / 2021 / 2 / a

The position operators and momentum operators are self-adjoint operators. Using conjugate linearity of the adjoint operator, $(cA+dB{)}^{\ast }=\overline{c}{A}^{\ast }+\overline{d}{B}^{\ast }$, givesWrite $D=\sqrt{2m\omega \hslash }$. Bilinearity and antisymmetry of the commutator, together with the canonical commutation relations, give $[P_j,X_k]=-i\hslash {\delta }_{jk}I$. HenceThe terms involving two position operators or two momentum operators vanish by the canonical commutation relations. Finally, reversing products under the adjoint operator, $(AB{)}^{\ast }=B^{\ast }{A}^{\ast }$, gives $[a_j,a_k{]}^{\ast }=-[a_j^{\ast },a_k^{\ast }]$. ThereforeHere $I$ is the identity operator. These are the relations for two independent pairs of creation and annihilation operators. The operator algebra in this question is understood on a common invariant operator domain, such as finite linear combinations of the number states constructed in part (c).

First apply the commutator product rule in the form $[AB,C]=A[B,C]+[A,C]B$:Repeated use of the commutator product rule gives, for $n\ge 1$,This is the commutator with powers of an eigenoperator. For $n=0$, the commutator with the identity operator is zero, agreeing with the formula.

Each $a_k^{\ast }{a}_k$ is unchanged by taking the adjoint operator, so $N^{\ast }=N$ in this algebra. Taking the adjoint of a commutator yields $[N,(a_j^{\ast }{)}^n{]}^{\ast }=[a_j^n,N]=n{a}_j^n$. By antisymmetry,In particular, each creation operator raises the number operator eigenvalue by one, and each annihilation operator lowers it by one.