For well width , put and when the interaction is . The spin-dot-product eigenvalue gives exchange energies for the singlet state and for the triplet states. Identical fermions require symmetric spatial orbitals with the singlet and antisymmetric orbitals with the triplet. Two particles in the same orbital can therefore only be singlets.
For , the three lowest distinct energy levels are the orbital- singlet at , orbital- triplet at , and orbital- singlet at , with multiplicities . Distinguishable particles instead allow an orbital- triplet, making the lowest three levels , , and , with multiplicities . The sixfold level includes both orbital orderings. For negative , the spin-sector orderings reverse within each fixed orbital sum.
The single-electron isotropic quantum harmonic oscillator has energiesIts lowest spatial orbital, denoted , is unique, with energy . Including spin one-half gives two spin orbitals. Two identical Electrons can occupy both only with opposite spin in the unique singlet state. Thus the two-electron ground state has energy and multiplicity one.
The first excited spatial shell consists of , each of energy , giving six spin orbitals. A first-excited two-electron Slater determinant occupies one of the two ground-shell spin orbitals and one of these six excited-shell spin orbitals. HenceNo further factor of two is inserted for interchanging the electrons, since the fermionic exchange symmetry is already built into a Slater determinant.
The spatial Hamiltonian operator is invariant under simultaneous rotations of both positions, so for each component of the total orbital angular momentum. It is also spin independent, so for each total spin component. Thereforeexpressing conservation of angular momentum and conservation of the total spin magnitude for this model. The Pauli exclusion principle restricts which states occur but does not break either symmetry.
To change the first-shell basis, take normalized real Cartesian orbitals . Using spherical coordinates, and . Comparison with the spherical harmonics gives the Cartesian and spherical bases of the first oscillator shell:Each is a common radial factor times , so and . Their normalizations and mutual orthogonality follow because this is a unitary change of basis. The ground spatial orbital has .
For two ground-shell electrons, addition of angular momentum gives , and their symmetric spatial state requires . For one electron in each shell, gives only . For each , form the normalized spatial combinationsThe exchange symmetry of two identical spin-one-half fermions permits with the singlet state and with each triplet state . In term symbol notation the manifolds are thereforeThe count reproduces and , as required. Both exchange symmetries are possible for the distinct occupied orbitals; dropping either spin sector would undercount the two-electron states in the first two shells of an isotropic oscillator.
For the specified spin-orbit interaction, and are the total two-electron operators. Set . The spin-dot-product eigenvalue identity givesFor the singlet, and the shift is zero. For the triplet, . The spin-orbit splitting of the first excited two-electron oscillator level is consequentlyAdd each shift to . The multiplicities sum to twelve and their weighted shift sums to zero. For positive the table is ordered in energy; for negative the ordering reverses. Weak coupling means . Since this total-spin interaction commutes with , and , the shifts within this invariant manifold are in fact exact for the specified model, although only first order was requested.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 343 1 c Solution 2026-09-28
Normalize the stated Pauli matrices asThe factor changes only the overall normalization at fixed . In the spin-one Cartesian basis, the associated periodic uniform matrix product state isThis is the Pauli-matrix representation of the Affleck--Kennedy--Lieb--Tasaki state.
The Pauli matrix multiplication lawshows that products on two neighboring sites span all of , so the tensor is an injective matrix product state after blocking two sites. More geometrically, its two-site image is the scalar plus antisymmetric subspace of , namely the total-spin and sectors. By the Two-site support of the Pauli-matrix Affleck--Kennedy--Lieb--Tasaki tensor, the missing subspace is the five-dimensional symmetric traceless sector.
Let be the orthogonal projection onto that sector. The parent Hamiltonian of a matrix product state isEach term annihilates , so this is a frustration-free quantum Hamiltonian and the MPS is a ground state. Writing and using the eigenvalues in the three total-spin sectors gives the explicit projectorThis is the Affleck--Kennedy--Lieb--Tasaki parent Hamiltonian. Injectivity implies that its periodic ground state is unique for every sufficiently long chain.
For the interaction built from the total two-electron spin and orbital angular momentum, set . The spin-dot-product eigenvalue identity then gives the shift in the title. In the first excited two-electron oscillator manifold, the singlet has and zero shift with multiplicity three. The triplet has , with shifts and multiplicities .
The multiplicities sum to twelve, and their weighted shift sums to zero. The specified interaction preserves both and ; it is distinct from summing separate single-electron spin-orbit interactions. Its shifts are exact within this model's invariant oscillator manifold, with weak coupling ensuring the original level ordering remains useful.
