PHYS2060 Quantum Mehanics II Spring 2020
Final Exam
Due Friday May 15 at noon
RULES FOR THE EXAM:
1. Please answer all questions. 30 points total. SHOW YOUR WORK
2. No collaboration permitted.
3. You may use your notes, the books by Shankar and Baym, and the course Canvas site.
4. No on-line material, and no internet searches.
5. Questions? Email me at marston@[Link]
1. (6 points total) A two-dimensional oscillator has the following Hamiltonian:
p~2 1
H= + mω 2 (1 + λxy)(x2 + y 2 )
2m 2
where you may assume that λ is small.
a. (2 points) Write down the exact energy eigenstates (and their energies) for the lowest 3 levels
when λ = 0.
b. (2 points) Does λ 6= 0 break a symmetry? If so, which one? What is a dimensionless measure of
the perturbation strength? (Note that λ by itself isn’t dimensionless.)
c. (2 points) Evaluate the perturbation of the energies and the eigenstates to first-order in λ.
2. (12 points total) Explore the physics of the relativistic hydrogen atom by answering the following
questions.
a. (2 points) Calculate the numerical value of the fine-structure constant and verify that it is dimen-
sionless. Expand the exact energy spectrum of the atom (Shankar Eq. 20.2.40) in powers of the fine
structure constant α up to and including order α4 .
b. (2 points) Calculate h2pz | r13 |2pz i using the 2pz energy eigenstate of the non-relativistic Schrödinger
equation for the hydrogen atom. Use this expectation value to find the first-order correction to the
non-relativistic eigenenergies due to the spin-orbit interaction as determined from the low-energy
expansion of the Dirac equation (Shanker Eq. 20.2.30). By how much do the j = 1/2 and 3/2 states
differ in energy, in eV? I’m looking for an actual number here.
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c. (2 points) What is the physical origin of the scalar relativistic correction − 8mp~3 c2 that appears in
Shankar Eq. 20.2.28? Calculate its expectation value for the 2s state.
d. (2 points) The Darwin term (Shankar Eq. 20.2.38) only contributes to the expected energy of
s-states – why? Verify Shankar Eq. 20.2.38 for the 2s state.
e. (2 points) Now put together your results from (b) – (d) above, and compare to the O(α4 ) expansion
of part (b). Do you find agreement or not?
f. (2 points) Finally, the exact spectrum of the Dirac equation for the hydrogen atom depends only
on the principal quantum number, n, and total angular momentum j but not the orbital angular
momentum `. For example the 2S1/2 and 2P1/2 states are degenerate. Is the degeneracy a consequence
of a symmetry? (In modern parlance we would ask if the degeneracy is “protected” by a symmetry.)
If so, what is the symmetry? Do you expect the degeneracy to be respected by a real hydrogen atom?
Why or why not?
1
3. (12 points total) Problems involving second quantization. Set h̄ = 1 for simplicity in the following.
In the equations below there is an implicit sum over raised and lowered Greek spin indices. The
following Pauli spin matrix identity will be useful: (~σ )βα · (~σ )δγ = 2δαδ δγβ − δαβ δγδ .
a. (2 points) Using n̂ = ĉ†σ ĉσ and the anticommutation relations for the fermion creation and
annihilation operators:
{ĉα , ĉ†β } ≡ ĉα ĉ†β + ĉ†β ĉα = δαβ ,
{ĉα , ĉβ } = {ĉ†α , ĉ†β } = 0
show by direct calculation that n = 2 when the operator acts upon the doubly-occupied orbital
|2i = αβ ĉ†α ĉ†β |0i in which the two fermions are paired into a spin-singlet state. (As usual, ↓↑ = 1,
↑↓ = −1, etc.) That is, show that n̂|2i = 2|2i. (Theˆsymbol that denotes an operator is dropped in
the remainder of the exam.) Hint: Move the destruction operator to the right so that it annihilates
the vacuum. Eg. cα c†β |0i = (δαβ − c†β cα )|0i = δαβ |0i.
b. (2 points) With S ~ ≡ 1 c†α~σαβ cβ again use the anticommutation relations to show that S
~ 2 = 3 when
2 4
acting upon a singly-occupied orbital, ie. the state |σi = c |0i.†σ
c. (2 points) Show that the operators obey the correct spin algebra, ie. [S x , S y ] = iS z .
d. (2 points) Now work with bosonic creation and annihilation operators to show that S ~ = 1 b†α~σαβ bβ
2
x y z
also obeys the same correct spin algebra, [S , S ] = iS . (This is known as “bosonization”: either
fermions, or bosons, can represent the spins. Here as usual the bosonic operators obey:
[bα , b†β ] = δαβ
e. (2 points) Evidently we can represent the spin operators S ~ with either fermions or bosons. But
bosons offer an advantage. To see this, show that S ~ 2 = S(S + 1) when the spin-operator acts upon
a state populated with 2S bosons: |α1 , α2 , . . . α2S i ≡ b†α1 b†α2 · · · b†α2S |0i.
f. (2 point) Draw a Young tableaux that describes the representation of the spin with multiple bosons
as in part (e) above.
