Quantum Physics III (8.

06) — Spring 2018

Assignment 3

Posted: Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Announcements

• Please put your name and section at the top of what you hand in.

Readings

• Griffiths, Section 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5.

• Cohen-Tannoudji, Chapter XII
• Shankar, Chapter 17.

1. Griffiths 6.15, p.270 (15 points) Here is the problem statement with minor modi-
fications! (Beware this was only corrected in the Cambridge University Press Second
Edition (2016))

(a) Show that p2 is hermitian for hydrogen states with ` = 0. For such states ψ is
independent of θ and φ so

2 ~2 d  2 d 
p ≡− 2 r
r dr dr
Using integration by parts, show that Hermiticity works up to a boundary term
 dg df  ∞
hf |p2 gi = −4π~2 r2 f − r2 g + hp2 f |gi .
dr dr 0
Consider the wavefunction for a state ψn00 , which goes like
 r 
n−1
ψn00 (r) ∼ N (1 + c1 r + . . . + cn−1 r ) exp − ,
na0
where N and the ci ’s are constants. Check that the boundary term vanishes when
g = ψn00 and f = ψn0 00 .
(b) The case of p4 is more subtle. The laplacian of 1/r picks up a delta function.
Show that  4k 3 
r2 r2 e−kr = − + k 4 e−kr + 8πk δ 3 (r) .
r
4
Use this relation to verify that p is Hermitian when evaluating the inner product
0
he−k r |p4 e−kr i.

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Quantum Physics III (8.06) — Spring 2018 Assignment 3

2. Wavefunction at the origin for spherically symmetric eigenstates (15 points)

(based on Sakurai’s Modern Quantum Mechanics)
For a particle in a zero angular momentum (` = 0) bound state of a central potential
V (r) a rather surprising result relates the value of the wavefunction ψ(0) at the origin
to the expectation value of a derivative of the potential:
D dV E
|ψ(0)|2 ∼ .
dr
Derive such relation and fix the coefficient precisely. (Hints: Begin with the radial
equation for u(r), multiply the equation by u0 (r) and integrate the equation from
r = 0 to r = ∞.)
Use the result to calculate |ψn00 (0)|2 for the nS states of the hydrogen atom. Verify
you got the right answer for n = 1.

3. Numerical estimates (5 points)

(i) Find the value of an external magnetic field that acting on a free electron produces
energy levels that have a separation equal to the splitting between 3P1/2 and 3P3/2
states.
(ii) Estimate the internal magnetic field at the electron in the 3P states. (You may
use Griffiths eqns. (6.59) and (6.64)).

4. Hydrogen medley (25 points) Let me denote the mass of an electron and e its
charge. The 8.04 version of the Hydrogen Hamiltonian is

p2 e2
H0 = − .
2m r
In this problem we will consider the spin of the electron (whose corresponding operator
~ but we will ignore the spin of the proton.
we call S)

(a) Complete sets of commuting observables (CSCO). A CSCO is a set of

commuting operators whose simultaneous eigenspaces are each one dimensional.
Equivalently, specifying all the eigenvalues of all the operators in a CSCO uniquely
specifies a state (up to multiplication by a scalar). You may use without proof that
~ 2 , Lz , Sz form a CSCO with eigenbasis {|n, l, ml , ms i}, and ii) H0 , L
i) H0 , L ~ 2 , J~2 , Jz
is a CSCO with eigenbasis {|n, l, j, mj i}. (In fact, using the rules for addition of
angular momentum, ii) follows from i)). For each of the following sets of operators,
either (a) explain why they are CSCOs or (b) explain why they are not CSCOs.
For simplicity, consider only bound states.
~ 2, L
i. H0 , L ~ · S,
~ Jz .
~ 2 , Lz , Sx .
ii. H0 , L
~ 2 , Jz , Sz .
iii. H0 , L
iv. H0 , J~2 , Jz , Sz .
v. H0 , J~2 , L~ · S,
~ Jz .

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Quantum Physics III (8.06) — Spring 2018 Assignment 3

(b) Strong-field Zeeman effect. In the strong-field Zeeman effect, the unperturbed
eigenstates are the uncoupled states |n, l, ml , ms i whose energies have been shifted
by an amount proportional to ml + 2ms due to the Zeeman Hamiltonian. The
more challenging part of the computation is to take care of the fine structure,
which can be thought of as contributing a term
me c2 α4
 
1 3
Hfs = − − ,
2n3 ĵ + 1/2 4n

where ĵ is an operator satisfying J 2 = ~2 ĵ(ĵ + 1). To compute the first-order

energy shifts here we need to evaluate
1
hn, l, ml , ms | |n, l, ml , ms i. (1)
ĵ + 1/2
i. Use the following strategy to evaluate (1). First compute the expectation
value of J 2 on the |n, l, ml , ms i state. Now imagine that we measure ĵ. Use
your calculation to find the probabilities of the two outcomes j = l + 1/2 and
j = l − 1/2. Finally use the fact that(1) equals
Pr[j = l + 1/2] Pr[j = l − 1/2]
+ (2)
l+1 l
to reproduce the known result for Ef1s in the strong-field Zeeman effect (see
Griffiths (6.82)). The full Zeeman effect includes the contribution from the
external magnetic field.
ii. The shifts in (1) used non-degenerate perturbation theory. But even with the
unperturbed energies a function of ml +2ms there are still degeneracies (it may
help you understand things better if you display those degeneracies for the
n = 2 level). Explain carefully and in detail why, despite these degeneracies,
the above argument is still correct.
5. Identities with vector operators. (20 points)
Suppose you have a set of angular momentum operators Jˆi , i = 1, 2, 3 that define an
angular momentum Ĵ. A set of operators Ŵi , with i = 1, 2, 3 is said to form a vector
operator Wˆ if
[ Jˆi , Ŵj ] = i~ ijk Ŵk .
Note that Ĵ itself is a vector operator.
(a) Show that when Ĵ is taken to be the orbital angular momentum L̂ the position
operator x̂ is a vector operator.
(b) Show that if Û and V̂ are vector operators, so is the cross product Û × V̂.
(c) Show that if Wˆ is a vector operator then

ˆ = 2i~ W
[Ĵ2 , W] ˆ ×J ˆ − i~ Wˆ
�

ˆ = J.
Check that this formula holds when we choose W ˆ

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Quantum Physics III (8.06) — Spring 2018 Assignment 3

(d) Show that for V̂ a vector operator the following formula holds
1h 2 2 i
1
Jˆ2 V̂ + V̂ Jˆ2 ,
�

Ĵ , [Ĵ , V̂] = (V̂ · Ĵ) Ĵ − 2
α
with α a constant you must determine.

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8.06 Quantum Physics III

Spring 2018

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