PHY5410–Advanced Quantum Mechanics: Problem Set 1

Lecture: Prof. Xing Wang / Tutorial: Qi Wei

handed out: Jan 20, 2025; due: Tuesday, Feb 11, 2025 in class/BB.

There will be a pre-hand-in tutorial online on this set.

Note: 1) In this problem set, we put ℏ = 1. 2) Einstein summation convention is assumed

unless specified. 3) You do not have to use the hints. 4) Optional problems are counted as a
bonus.

Problem 1
{|0⟩, |1⟩, |2⟩} forms a set of complete non-orthogonal basis of a Hilbert space, with the following
overlaps, ⟨0|0⟩ = ⟨1|1⟩ = ⟨2|2⟩ = 1, ⟨0|1⟩ = ⟨1|2⟩ = ⟨2|0⟩ = 1/2. An operator  is defined by
its action on this basis: |0⟩ 7→ |1⟩ + |2⟩, |1⟩ 7→ |0⟩ + |2⟩, |2⟩ 7→ |0⟩ + |1⟩.

a) Show that |0⟩, |1⟩ and |2⟩ are linearly independent.

b) Compute the eigenvalues and eigenvectors (in terms of this basis) of Â.

Problem 2
On the Baker–Campbell–Hausdorff formula.

a) (Optional) Prove the Baker–Campbell–Hausdorff (BCH) formula

X 1 1
e B̂e− = [Â, · · · [Â, B̂] · · · ] = B̂ + [Â, B̂] + [Â, [Â, B̂]] + · · · , (1)
n! | {z } 2!
n≥0 n times

by brute force: expand both sides into sums of monomials Âm B̂ Ân , and compare the
coefficients.

b) Show that if [Â, B̂] is a c-number, then e eB̂ = eB̂ e e|Â,B̂| .
 
Hint: Note that e eB̂ e− = exp e B̂e− .

c) Given [Â, B̂] = B̂ 2 , compute e B̂e− (result should be in terms of B̂ only).

Hint: Prove by induction or define an operator function fˆ(t) = et B̂e−t and solve its
ODE.

Problem 3
(This problem uses the spin-(1/2) system to illustrate some concepts and set up something
useful for later chapters. ) In the lecture, we learned how to construct1 the spin operators,
Ŝx , Ŝy , Ŝz , in terms of the complete and orthonormal basis {|±⟩}, which are eigenvectors of
Ŝz with eigenvalues ± 21 respectively:

1
−i
1

Ŝx = |+⟩⟨−| + |−⟩⟨+| , Ŝy = |+⟩⟨−| − |−⟩⟨+| , Ŝz = |+⟩⟨+| − |−⟩⟨−| . (2)
2 2 2
1
However, we did not fix the relative phase factor for Ŝx and Ŝy . You can refer to chapter 1.4.2 of J.J.
Sakurai and Jim Napolitano, 3rd ed for details. For this problem, you can take them for granted.
 a) Show that
1 3
{Ŝi , Ŝj } = δij , and S2 ≡ Ŝx2 + Ŝy2 + Ŝz2 = 1,
[Ŝi , Ŝj ] = iεijk Ŝk , (3)
2 4
where εxyz = 1 = −εxzy = −εyxz = −εzxy = εyzx = εzxy and 1 stands for the identity
operator in this 2d Hilbert space.
Define the Pauli matrices as the following:
       
1 0 0 1 0 −i 1 0
σ0 = , σ1 = , σ2 = , σ3 = . (4)
0 1 1 0 i 0 0 −1
It is known that any 2 × 2 matrix can be represented as a linear combination of these four
matrices.
b) Write down all the commutation and anti-commutation relations of Pauli matrices,
[σi , σj ] =? and {σi , σj } =? for i ≤ j, in terms of Pauli matrices on the right-hand side.
Compare the results with those in a) and explain.
c) Define
3
X
X ·σ = Xi σi , (5)
i=1
with Xi ’s c-number. Compute [A · σ, B · σ] and {A · σ, B · σ}, and represent the results
as linear combinations of Pauli matrices.
d) If M = a0 σ0 + 3i=1 ai σi is Hermitian, what is the condition on c-numbers a0 , a1 , a2
P
and a3 ? Show that M 2 = c0 + c1 M and relate c0 and c1 with a0 , a1 , a2 and a3 . Then
solve the eigenvalues of M .
e) Given n is a 3-component real unit vector, compute exp (iθn · σ) as a linear combination
of Pauli matrices, with θ ∈ R.
Hint: Always recall to use expansions to help understand operator functions and find
some patterns.
f) Following e), compute exp (iθn · σ) A · σ exp (−iθn · σ) as a linear combination of Pauli
matrices.
Hint: Try to do this in two different ways: use the result of e) or use the BCH formula.

Problem 4
Consider a Hilbert space spanned by the eigenvectors {|λ⟩}, without degeneracy, of a Hermi-
tian operator Ĥ.
Q

a) Show that Ô = λ Ĥ − λ is a null operator, naming Ô|ψ⟩ = 0, ∀|ψ⟩.
b) What is the significance of
Y Ĥ − λ
P̂ ≡ , (6)
′
λ′ − λ
λ̸=λ
where the product is on the index λ and λ′ is an explicit eigenvalue.
c) What happens if degeneracy exists?
Problem 5
On a 4-dimensional Hilbert space, consider the following Hermitian operator, Ĥ = a σ0 ⊗ σ2 +
b σ0 ⊗ σ3 + c σ2 ⊗ σ1 + d σ3 ⊗ σ1 , where a, b, c, d are non-zero real numbers, ⊗ is the tensor
product and σ’s are the Pauli matrices defined as previously.

a) (Optional) Find a unitary operator Û that anti-commutes with Ĥ, i.e., {Ĥ, Û } = 0 and
Û † Û = 1.
Hint: Note that the four operators in Ĥ mutually anti-commute.

b) Use a) to show that if λ ̸= 0 is an eigenvalue of Ĥ, then −λ is also an eigenvalue. Are

there degenrancy?

c) Compute Ĥ 2 . Use this result and the conclusion from b) to compute the eigenvalues of
Ĥ.

d) Consider the special case a = c = 0, b = d = 1. Explicitly construct the projection

operator, P̂GS , for the ground states |GS⟩ of Ĥ.

e) (Optional) Consider a mixture of states with density operator ρ̂ proportional to the

projection operator P̂GS in d). Compute the von Neumann entropy of this mixture of
states. Compute the expectation value of σ2 ⊗ σ2 in this mixture of states.

f) (Optional) Measure the operator σ1 ⊗ σ0 on the mixture of states in e). What are the
possible outcomes of the measurement, the corresponding probability of the measure-
ment outcome, and the corresponding collapsed state density matrix?