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The time-evolution operator maps an initial quantum state to its state at a later time. For a time-independent Hamiltonian operator $H$, it is the unitary operator $U(t)=e^{-iHt/\hslash }$.

More generally, write $|\psi (t)⟩=U(t,t_0)|\psi (t_0)⟩$. The time-evolution operator obeysFor a constant self-adjoint Hamiltonian operator, $U(t,t_0)=\exp [-iH(t-t_0)/\hslash ]$. With zero as the initial time, this gives the group law $U(t+s)=U(t)U(s)$. Successive evolution is reversible; a measurement followed by conditioning on an outcome is a separate operation described by projective measurement.

For a time-dependent Hamiltonian operator, the defining equation is $i\hslash {\partial }_{t}U(t,t_0)=H(t)U(t,t_0)$. In finite dimension, a continuous Hermitian $H(t)$ still gives unitary time evolution, sinceThe solution is a time-ordered exponential, with later factors acting on the left. One may replace it by $\exp [-i{\int }_{t_0}^{t}H(s)ds/\hslash ]$ when $[H(s),H(s^{\prime })]=0$ at all times; independently changing pulse axes generally requires time ordering.^[ref]

A time-independent Hamiltonian evolves a state by the unitary operator $U(t)=e^{-iHt/\hslash }$.

For a closed quantum system, unitary time evolution changes a quantum state through a unitary operator, preserving norms and inner products. For a time-independent self-adjoint Hamiltonian operator $H$, choose the initial time as zero:Here $\hslash =h/(2\pi )$ is the reduced Planck constant. The same $U(t)$ acts on every initial quantum state; it depends on the Hamiltonian operator and elapsed time, rather than the chosen preparation.^[ref]

The self-adjointness of $H$ makes the exponential a unitary operator. In finite dimension, conjugating its matrix exponential givesThe two exponents commute because both are multiples of $H$. Hence, for any two initial vectors,This short proof explains why normalization survives, why orthogonality of initial vectors survives, and why the transition probability between two states evolved by the same $U$ is unchanged. It does not require that a fixed measurement in quantum mechanics have time-independent probabilities: its measurement basis need not move with the quantum states.

For an unbounded self-adjoint operator, define the exponential through the spectral theorem, rather than assuming that its power series acts on every vector. It is a unitary operator on the entire Hilbert space; the strong Schrödinger equation holds for initial vectors in the operator domain $D(H)$. For a density operator, unitary time evolution reads $\rho (t)=U(t)\rho (0)U(t{)}^{†}$. It preserves eigenvalues and purity of a density operator, but can change its entries in a fixed basis.

The useful distinction is between conserving total probability and conserving each measurement's probabilities. A fixed energy spectrum supplies different ticking rates for different probability amplitudes. Their relative quantum phases can move the Bloch vector and create quantum interference even while every energy eigenstate population stays fixed. Qubit precession under a constant Hamiltonian makes this visible; Ramsey interferometry converts the accumulated relative quantum phase into a population difference that a simple readout can detect.