Physics 137A (lectures 1&3, Fall 2014): Homework #2

A.E. Charman
Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley

(Dated: 9/6/2014; DUE: 9/12/2014)

Solutions to all required (i.e., non-practice) problems are due in the Physics 137A (lectures 1&3)
box in the Physics Department Reading Room (251 LeConte) before 6 pm on FRIDAY,
September 12, 2014. Remember that you will receive points based on overall completeness,
and also for a subset of problems that will be holistically graded in detail based on content,
presentation, and analysis. Problems or parts of problems marked [PRACTICE] will not be
graded, but are suggested for extra exploration or practice if you wish. A request to show
or prove a result is meant to elicit the sort of argument that would satisfy a physicist, not
necessarily a professional mathematiciancogent, reasonably clear in its logical direction, but not
necessarily completely rigorous and explicit in all of its mathematical steps.

I. ANNOUNCEMENTS

Andys office hours this coming week will be Wednesday 34 pm and Friday 23 pm, or by appointment.
Juwons office hours are Wednesday 23 pm and Thursday 34 pm. Kolens office hours are Tuesday
23 pm and Thursday 23 pm.
II. READING
Required:

Read Townsend: 2.12.6

Recommended:

Read Bowman: Chapter 4, Appendix D (available on bSpace)

Suggested:

Bowman: Chapter 57; Miller: Chapters 45 (available on bSpace)

III. PROBLEMS [WEIGHT = 100]

Some questions on Stern-Gerlach type experiments, and some of the basic machinery of quantum state
vectors and probabilistic predictions....

1. [PRACTiCE] Here we will establish some useful facts about the exponential function that we will
make use of in quantum mechanics:
(a) Prove the Euler identity: ei = cos + i sin , for any real phase angle . HINT: Use Taylor series
expansions, then rearrange.

n
(b) Show that lim 1 + nz = ez , for any fixed complex number z.
n

(c) Suppose The function f (x) satisfies f (x + y) = f (x)f (y) for all real values of x and y. Find all
possible functions f (x) that satisfy this equation. You may assume that f (x) is smooth, although it is
actually possible to relax this assumption, and only assume that the function is continuous, or even just
continuous at at least one point.

Electronic

address: acharman@physics.berkeley.edu

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2. [PRACTICE] Townsend, Problem 1.2. Explain why the answer does not depend explicitly on the
radius R of the sphere. How does the answer change if the charge is distributed uniformly throughout
the volume of the sphere rather than just on its surface?

3. Townsend, Problems 1.3.

= z are just various synonyms for unit vectors pointing
j = = y,
k=k
As usual in physics, i = = x,
along the mutually orthogonal coordinate directions in a right-handed Cartesian coordinate system in
ordinary three-dimensional space. In spherical coordinates, the polar angle is the angle down from the
z axis to the point in question, and the azimuthal angle is the angle measured counterclockwise about
the z axis to the projection of the point in horizontal (x, y) plane, measured counterclockwise starting
from the x axis.
Again, do not confuse the unit vector z pointing along the +z axis in ordinary, three-dimensional space,
which lives in an abstract, complex vector space, and
with the state vector (ket) denoted by |+zi,
represents the state of the spin- 21 particle known to have the component Sz = + ~2 , or equivalently, known
to be spin up in the z direction.

4. Townsend, Problems 1.4.

5. [PRACTICE] Townsend, Problems 1.5.

6. Townsend, Problems 1.6.

7. [PRACTICE] Townsend, Problems 1.7.

8. Consider the two (unnormalized) states vectors |i = i |1 i + 3i |2 i |3 i and

|i = |1 i i |2 i + 5i |3 i, where |1 i, |2 i, and |3 i are orthonormal:
(a) Determine h| and h|.
(b) Calculate the inner products h|i, h|i, h|i, and h|i.
Suppose |+ i =

i
2

|i +

3
2

|i, and |+ i =

(c) Infer h+ |+ i, h | i, and h+ | i.

(d) Normalize the state vector |+ i.

i
2

|i

3
2

|i:

3
9. Let A be a quantum mechanical observable, which takes on any of the definite values a1 , a2 , . . . , aN ,
when they system is described by the orthonormal state |1 i , . . . , or |N i, respectively. Recall that if
these states are not only mutually exclusive but also exhaustive, then they form an orthonormal basis,
and any normalized quantum state vector for the system can be written as |i = c1 |1 i + + cn |n i
2
2
for some complex coefficients c1 , . . . , cn satisfying |c1 | + |cn | = 1.
If the system is described by the state |i, given any function f (x), the expectation value of f (A) is
hf (A)i =

n
X

|cn | f (aj ).

j=1

(a) Show that if f (x) g(x) then hf (A)i hg(A)i.

Consider the so-called indicator function function
(
k (x) =

1
0

if x = ak
otherwise

(b) Show that the average value of k (A) is equal to the probability that a measurement of A would
yield the value ak .
(c) Verify that if the state vector is instead e |i, for some real phase angle , then all expectation
values and probabilities remain unchanged.
Unlesspotherwise noted, the uncertainty of a physical observable
is quantified
 by the standard deviation
2 , which is just the square root of the variance 2 = (A hAi)2 .
A = A
A
2
= hA2 i hAi2 .
(d) Show that A

(e) Show that a = 0 if and only if the system is in one of the |j i states.
(f ) [PRACTICE] Show that, for any choice of positive

constant k > 0, the measurement probabilities for
the observable A must satisfy: P |A hAi| kA k12 . This is known as the Chebyshev Inequality.
10. [PRACTICE] Townsend, Problems 1.10.

11. Townsend, Problems 1.15.

12. Suppose a system is somehow prepared in the (unnormalized) quantum state |i = i2 |1 i +
1 |2 i 1 |3 i, where |1 i, |2 i, and |3 i are orthononormal, and correspond to quantum states
5
10
where the system takes on definite values of a certain observable B, namely B = 1, B = 4, or B = 9,
respectively.
(a) Find the normalized state vector describing the system.
Suppose we then perform a measurement revealing the value of B for the system:
(b) what is the expected value of B?
(c) What is the probability of measuring B = 2?
(d) What is the probability of measuring an odd value for B?

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IV. SOME COMMENTS

A. Elementary facts about vector spaces

Several students asked me about the problem on Homework #1 involving proving basic facts about
vector spaces from the axioms. For the sake of completeness, I have listed here some proofs of several
elementary properties of vectors, which we can prove using: (i) the basic properties of the complex
numbers, (ii) the vector space axions, and (iii) any antecedent theorems in the list. In particular, we
make use of the uniqueness properties of the null vector, and of additive inverses.
From here on out, we are of course free to use these facts without proof.
1. uniqueness of the zero (null) vector:
x + y = x if and only if y = 0 :

(1)

Proof: note that x + 0 = x axiomatically. Suppose x + y = x. Then

y = y + 0 = y + (x x) = (y + x) x = (x + y) x = x x = 0.
2. uniqueness of additive inverses:
x + y = 0 if and only if y = x :

(2)

Proof: note that x + (x) = 0 axiomatically. Suppose x + y = 0. Then

y = y + 0 = y + (x x) = (y + x) + (x) = (x + y) + (x) = 0 + (x) = x.
3. coercivity of the scalar zero:
0x = 0 :

(3)

Proof:
0x = 0x + 0 = 0x + (0x 0x) = (0x + 0x) 0x = (0 + 0)x 0x = 0x 0x = 0.
4. coercivity of the vector zero :
0 = 0 :

(4)

Proof:
x + 0 = (x + 0) = x 0 = 0.
5. negation by multiplication:
(1) x = x :

(5)

Proof:


0 = 0x = 1 + (1) x = 1x + (1)x = x + (1)x (1)x = x.
6. reciprocity of additive inverses:
y = x if and only if x = y :
Proof:
y = x 0 = x + y = y + x x = y
x = y 0 = y + x = x + y y = x

(6)

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7. double-negation:
(x) = x :

(7)

Proof:
0 = x + (x) = (x) + x x = (x).
8. dichotomy of zero:
x = 0 if and only if either = 0 or x = 0 :

(8)

Proof: note = 0 x = 0x = 0, while x = 0 x = 0 = 0. Now, suppose x = 0. If 6= 0,

then 0 = 1 (0) = 1 (x) = (1 )x = 1x = x. So x = 0 implies = 0 or x = 0.
9. distributivity of negation:
(x + y) = (x) + (y) = x y :

(9)

Proof:


(x + y) = (1) x + y = (1)x + (1)y = x + (y) = x y
10. transfer of negation:
()x = (x) = (x) :

(10)

Proof:


0 = 0x = + () x = x + ()x ()x = (x).


0 = 0 = x + (x) = x + (x) (x) = (x).
11. scaling via accumulation:
n
X

x = nx :

(11)

j=1

Proof by induction: obviously x = x from reflexivity. Suppose that

n
X
j=1

x=

Pn1
j=1

x = (n 1)x. Then

hn1
X i


x + x = (n 1)x + (1)x = (n 1) + 1 x = nx.
j=1

B. Gaussian versus SI Units and the Bohr Magneton

Do not worry if the Gaussian units look unfamiliar. There will actually only be a few places in the
course involving electromagnetism where the expressions in Gaussian (CGS) units will differ from those
in SI, or MKS units.
In the case of the relationship between intrinsic spin and magnetic moment, we can sweep the distinctoin
further under the rug by defining another constant, the Bohr magneton, a name coined by Wolfgang
Pauli in 1920, or sometimes the Bohr-Procopiu magneton. For an electron, we can write
= gB S/~,

(12)

in either Gaussian (CGS) or SI (MKS) units, where

B =

e~
2me

(13)

6
in SI units, while
B =

e~
2me c

(14)

in Gaussian units, where e is the magnitude of the elementary charge, me is the rest mass of the electron,
h
c is the vacuum speed of light, ~ = 2
is the reduced Plancks constant, and g is a dimensionless factor
(know as the g factor, or g value, or sometimes the dimensionless magnetic moment), while S/~ is a
re-scaled spin angular momentum vector which is dimensionless.
A well-known mnemonic to help remember the definition of the Bohr magneton in Gaussian units is:
electrons ~elp 2 make chemistry.
If we write our formulae involving spin in terms of the Bohr magneton, they will be the same in Gaussian
or SI units.
The nuclear magnetic moment N is defined similarly, except with the electron rest mass me replaced
with the proton rest mass mp .