Heisenberg picture Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-11-05
The Heisenberg picture assigns a closed system's unitary time evolution to its observables while keeping the state fixed at a reference time. If is the evolution operator, a Schrödinger-picture linear operator becomesThe transformation preserves expectation values:It is a change of description, not a different physical evolution.
For a possibly time-dependent Hamiltonian operator , let . Differentiating the transformation givesIf is time independent and has no explicit time dependence, this reduces to . Using an untransformed time-dependent Hamiltonian without checking the picture would generally be incorrect.
For a spin one-half with , a fixed Schrödinger-picture becomesThe Pauli matrix commutator identity verify its initial derivative , illustrating uniform-field spin precession with a fixed Heisenberg-picture state.
Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2012 Paper 1 Section B B8 Solution 2026-10-20
matrix multiplication gives , hence . For physical neutron spin, use , so , , and measurement along any axis gives .
For the specified field, . The Time-dependent Schrödinger equation is with . The uniform-field spin precession follows from :
The measurement direction is , as confirmed by the original diagram. Write and . The spinors and have unit norm and inner product . Applying gives eigenvalues and . At they are the usual basis; at they are the basis up to a phase; at the up/down roles are exchanged, with a factor ; and at both return with a minus sign. A spinor changes sign under a full rotation, while its isolated-state measurement probabilities are unchanged.
For spin measurement in the yz plane, projection givesFor these are ; for both are at all times; for they are exchanged; and for they are the same as at zero angle. The constant probabilities also follow from conservation of .