Freie Universität Berlin

Final Exam (Retake) – Advanced Quantum Mechanics

Name: Matriculation Number:

Part I 20 pts.
Briefly answer the following questions.

1. Give an example for a separable state and one for an entangled state. (1 pt.)

2. Describe an experiment in which Bell’s inequality is violated. (4 pts.)

3. Assume two spin-1/2 particles to be prepared in a singlet state. Sending the state through a
meter measuring Ŝx ⊗11, what are the possible measurement outcomes and post-measurement
states? With which probability do they occur? (2 pts.)

4. Given a Hamiltonian Ĥ, write down the transformation for a state vector |ψi, given in the
Schrödinger picture, to the Heisenberg picture, assuming that the pictures coincide at t = 0.
Show that this transformation is unitary. (2 pts.)
ˆ ˆ
5. Given two subsystems with angular momentum operators ~J1 , ~J2 , write down all choices for
a complete set of commuting angular momentum observables for the bipartite system.
(3 pts.)

6. What is referred to as para-, respectively ortho-helium? (1 pt.)

7. Show that, for arbitrary |ϕi, hϕ|Ĥ|ϕi ≥ E0 where E0 is the ground state energy of Ĥ.
(3 pts.)

8. Consider a system of N identical particles. Why does the symmetry character of the N -
particle state under particle exchange not change with time? (2 pts.)

9. What is the difference between the Hartree method and the Hartree-Fock method? (1 pt.)

10. What is referred to as Born expansion? (1 pt.)

Problem 1 20 Points
Consider N non-interacting identical particles in a cube of volume V = L3 .

(a) Write down the Hamiltonian for the N -particle system.

(b) Calculate, for the case of periodic boundary conditions,

the single-particle wavefunctions and single-particle energies.

(c) Calculate the ground state and the ground state energy for N bosons.

(d) Explain how to construct the ground state for N = 14 spin-1/2 fermions and find the
associated energy. Briefly explain how to estimate the fermionic ground state energy for
arbitrarily large N  1 (you may assume L  1, with N/V constant).

Problem 2 20 Points
Consider a harmonic oscillator subject to a small perturbation,

p̂2 1 2 √
Ĥ = Ĥ0 + λĤ1 = + x̂ + λ 2 · x̂ with 0 < λ  1 .
2 2

(a) Show that the matrix elements of λĤ1 in the unperturbed basis |n(0) i (with n ∈ N0 ) are
given by D E h√ i
p
m(0) |λĤ1 |n(0) = λ nδm,n−1 + (n + 1)δm,n+1 .

Hint: x̂ = √12 â + â+ with â, â+ the annihilation and creation operators.

Why does this imply that the energy correction vanishes in first-order perturbation theory
for all eigenstates of the unperturbed harmonic oscillator?
(0)
(b) The correction to the eigenenergy En in second-order perturbation theory is given by
 2
 (0) (0) 
X  hm |λ Ĥ 1 |n i 
∆En(2) = (0) (0)
.
m6=n E n − E m

Calculate the second-order correction for the ground state energy. For which values of λ is
the energy correction positive, for which negative? Explain why in physical terms.
(2)
Hint: To find a physical argument for the sign of ∆En , consider how the potential changes
due to the perturbation.
 (c) Using the set of normalized test states,
κ2
X κn
|φκ i = e− 2 √ |n(0) i ,
n n!

for κ ∈ R, calculate an approximation for the ground state energy of the perturbed harmonic
oscillator via the Ritz variational principle.
Hint: It is useful to first prove and then use the following property of the test states:
∀κ ∈ R : â |φκ i = κ |φκ i.

Bonus question: Show that the variationally obtained solution for |φκ i yields the exact
ground state of Ĥ.

Problem 3 20 Points
Consider the deuterium atom, or heavy hydrogen. Its nucleus (called deuteron) is made up of a
proton and a neutron, both of which have spin-1/2.

ˆ ˆ ˆ ˆ ˆ
(a) The total nuclear spin is given by ~I = ~Ip +~In where ~Ip and ~In are the spin operators of proton
2
and neutron, respectively. Construct the eigenstates of Î and Îz in terms of the product
basis and determine the corresponding eigenvalues.

(b) Is the deuteron (i.e., the nucleus) a fermion, a boson, or neither? Would your answer change
when considering the deuterium atom as a whole?
ˆ ˆ ˆ ˆ
(c) The total angular momentum of the deuterium atom is given as ~ F = ~J + ~I, where ~J is the
ˆ ˆ ~ˆ ˆ ˆ
total angular momentum of the electron, i.e., ~J = ~
L + S with ~
L and ~
S the electron’s orbital
2
angular momentum and spin. What are the eigenvalues of F̂ when the electron is in an
eigenstate with principal quantum number n and angular quantum number l?
Hint: You may assume that the deuteron is in its ground state which implies I = 1, as shown
in (d).

(d) The total nuclear wave function is given by the product of three different functions: the
spatial wave function, the spin wave function (related to the total nuclear spin Î introduced
in (a) ), and the isospin wave function (isospin refers to the fact that proton and neutron
can, to good approximation, be described as two states of a ’nucleon’; it is not actually a
spin). The isospin wave function of the deuteron is antisymmetric under exchange of proton
and neutron. Show that the quantum number of the total nuclear spin Î is given by I = 1
when the deuteron is in its ground state.
Hint: You may assume that the nuclear orbital angular momentum vanishes in the ground
state of the deuteron.