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A creation operator raises the occupation number operator eigenvalue of a quantum harmonic oscillator by one. Repeated application builds Fock states.

Adding $-Fx$ to the quantum harmonic oscillator potential gives $\frac{1}{2}m{\omega }^2(x-d{)}^2-F^2/(2m{\omega }^2)$, where $d=F/(m{\omega }^2)$. Translation preserves the oscillator spectrum, apart from the displayed constant shift. Eigenfunctions are translated by $d$ and the energy spacing is unchanged.

For a quantum harmonic oscillator perturbed by $\lambda X^4$, write $X=\sqrt{\hslash /(2m\omega )}(A+A^{†})$. Sincefirst-order nondegenerate perturbation theory gives

For a normalized state with the required position and momentum moments, $[x,p]=i\hslash$ and the Robertson uncertainty principle give $\Delta x\Delta p\ge \hslash /2$. In a quantum harmonic oscillator, the arithmetic-geometric mean inequality then bounds the variance contribution to energy below by $\hslash \omega /2$.

For a quantum harmonic oscillator with $\omega >0$, a complex mode satisfying the Wronskian normalization $q{\dot{q}}^{\ast }-\dot{q}{q}^{\ast }=i$ can be written $q=r{e}^{is}$ with $\dot{s}=-1/(2r^2)$. Its vacuum energy is ${\dot{r}}^2/2+1/(8r^2)+{\omega }^2{r}^2/2$. This is at least $\omega /2$, with equality exactly when $\dot{r}=0$ and $r^2=1/(2\omega )$. The same argument fixes the subhorizon positive-frequency normalization in the Bunch-Davies vacuum of a canonical cosmological mode.

For the quantum harmonic oscillator $H=\hslash \omega (a^{†}a+1/2)$, its normal symbol is $H_N=\hslash \omega (\bar{\psi }\psi +1/2)$. The Weyl ordering symbol of $a^{†}a$ is $\bar{\psi }\psi -1/2$, so $H_W=\hslash \omega \bar{\psi }\psi =p^2/(2m)+m{\omega }^2{q}^2/2$. Switching from adjacent-label coherent-state time slicing to a midpoint phase-space path integral must retain this ordering correction. Both correctly normalized constructions give the thermal partition function of a quantum harmonic oscillator $Z=[2\sinh (\beta \hslash \omega /2){]}^{-1}$; retaining the normal-symbol constant after switching prescriptions would count the zero-point shift twice.

A number state is a normalized eigenstate of the number operator:For a single quantum harmonic oscillator, it is also an energy eigenstate with energy $\hslash \omega (n+1/2)$.

This Hilbert space has norm $\Vert u{\Vert }_X^2=\Vert u{\Vert }_2^2+\Vert u^{\prime }{\Vert }_2^2+\Vert xu{\Vert }_2^2$. Completeness follows from completeness of H1 space and closedness of the multiplication operator $u\mapsto xu$. Smooth cutoffs followed by convolution with a mollifier show that smooth compactly supported functions are dense. The space is the natural energy domain of the dimensionless quantum harmonic oscillator, whereas the operator domain additionally requires $u^{\prime \prime }$ and $x^{2}u$ to lie in L2 space.

For two equal-frequency quantum harmonic oscillators, the ordinary thermal trace is $r/(1-r{)}^2$ and the trace with the parity operator is $r/(1+r{)}^2$, where $r=e^{-\beta \omega }$. Total excitation $N$ has degeneracy $N+1$ and parity $(-1{)}^N$. Therefore the traces expand as ${\sum }_{n\ge 1}(\pm 1{)}^{n-1}n{r}^n$. The alternating weights come from parity insertion in a bosonic state space, not fermionic statistics.

Write $z=z_c+\eta$, with $\eta (0)=\eta (T)=0$. Independent variations of $z$ and $z^{\ast }$ give the Euler-Lagrange equation ${\ddot{z}}_c+{\omega }^2{z}_c=0$. Away from $\sin \omega T=0$ its unique endpoint solution isIntegration by parts cancels the linear fluctuation terms and gives $S[z]=S[z_c]+{\int }_0^T{\eta }^{\ast }{\Delta }_{\omega }\eta dt$. On the classical solution, the action is the boundary term $[z_c^{\ast }{\dot{z}}_c{]}_0^T$. Substituting the endpoint derivatives therefore givesThe remaining Gaussian path integral contains two real fluctuation coordinates per mode, so it contributes an inverse functional determinant, rather than its inverse square root. Thus $K=e^{iS[z_c]}/\det {\Delta }_{\omega }$, with the measure normalization fixing the otherwise arbitrary constant.

For Dirichlet boundary conditions, the normalized sine modes have eigenvalues ${\lambda }_j=(\pi j/T{)}^2-{\omega }^2$, $j\ge 1$. Their determinant ratio is the convergent Dirichlet oscillator determinant ratioThe last equality is the sine infinite product. With the prescribed free determinant this givesThe kernel uses the Feynman i-epsilon prescription; at a caustic it is a distributional limit, not an ordinary finite function. Its $\omega \to 0$ limit is $(\pi iT{)}^{-1}\exp (i|z_f-z_i{|}^2/T)$.

There is a sign error in the printed complex-integral hint. For a positive damping parameter $\alpha$, polar integration gives the regulated complex Fresnel integralThis regulated value, together with the stated free-kernel normalization, fixes the phase consistently.

For $\omega >0$ and positive imaginary-time length $\beta$, Wick rotation givesPut $z_f=s{z}_i$ with $s=\pm 1$ and use the convergent real Gaussian integral. Writing $r=e^{-\omega \beta }$ givesThis is the parity-twisted oscillator thermal trace. The complex coordinate describes two independent real quantum harmonic oscillators, each with mass two in these units. Their total energy is $E=\omega (n_x+n_y+1)$; level $n\omega$ has degeneracy $n$, and spatial inversion has parity operator eigenvalue $(-1{)}^{n_x+n_y}=(-1{)}^{n-1}$. The plus sign is $\mathrm{Tr}{e}^{-\beta H}$; the minus sign is $\mathrm{Tr}(P{e}^{-\beta H})$. The alternating trace inserts parity into a bosonic system; it does not change the oscillators into fermions.