PHYS 2912 (Advanced) Quantum Physics Assignment 1

Due Friday 11 October 2013 1. Consider a standard Stern-Gerlach experiment, with a beam of spin-1/2 particles prepared in one of the following states: |1 = i|+ + 2| , |2 = 3|+
x

(1)
x

ei/3 |

(2)

For each of these two states, answer the following questions: (a) Normalise this state vector. (b) What are the possible results of a measurement of the spin component Sz , and with what probabilities do they occur? (c) Calculate the expectation value Sz for this state. How does this quantity relate to your answer to part (b)? (d) What are the possible results of a measurement of the spin component Sx , and with what probabilities do they occur? (e) Calculate the expectation value Sx and the uncertainty Sx for this state. 2. Consider spin-1/2 particles prepared in the state: | = Answer the following questions: (a) Identify a vector spatial n and the associated spin operator Sn (written as a matrix) for which the state | is an eigenvector with eigenvalue + /2. (b) Find the normalised state that is the other eigenvector of this same spin operator, with eigenvalue /2. (c) Calculate the inner product between these two eigenvectors. 3. Any unit vector n in real three-dimensional space can be described using polar coordinates with a polar angle , in the range 0 , and an azimuthal angle , in the range 0 < 2 . The vector can be expressed in Cartesian coordinates as n = (sin cos , sin sin , cos ) . (a) Calculate the corresponding spin operator Sn in matrix notation. (b) Calculate the normalised eigenvector of this spin operator with eigenvalue + /2. (c) Argue that the set of all possible normalised states of a spin-1/2 particle are in one-to-one correspondence with the points on the surface of a sphere. This parametrisation of states of spin-1/2 particles is known as the Bloch sphere. Hint: you will need to use the fact that the overall phase of a quantum state is irrelevant to its description. ) using the states |+ and 4. (a) Determine the matrix representation of the rotation operator R( k | as a basis. Using your matrix representation, verify that this rotation matrix is a unitary matrix. (b) Repeat part (a) for the rotation operator R( i). (c) Calculate the matrix representation for the rotation operator that describes a rotation by )/ 2 direction, i.e., pointing in a direction 45 between about a unit vector pointing in the ( i+k both the +x and +z axes. (3) 1 2 |+ ei/3 | . 3 3