Advanced Quantum Mechanics: Problem Sheet 6

1. Continuing the general discussion of time independent non-degenerate perturba-

tion theory derive the formula for second order corrections to the wave function
(2)
|En 〉.

Answer

In the lecture notes we derived the identity at second order

(0)
〈Em |H (2) |En(0) 〉+〈Em
(0)
|H (1) |En(1) 〉+Em
(0) (0)
〈Em |En(2) 〉 = En(0) 〈Em
(0)
|En(2) 〉+En(1) 〈Em
(0)
|En(1) 〉+En(2) δnm

To determine |E (2) 〉 we need to know the coefficients cn where

!
|En(2) 〉 = (0)
cnm |Em 〉
m

(0) (2)
and we know that cnm = 〈Em |En 〉. Thus since we have a non-degenerate spec-
trum we so, for n ∕= m,

c(2) (0) (2)

nm = 〈Em |En 〉
1 " (0) (2) (0) (0)
#
= (0) (0)
〈Em |H |En 〉 + 〈Em |H (1) |En(1) 〉 − En(1) 〈Em
(0)
|En(1) 〉
En − Em
However we know that
! 1
|En(1) 〉 = (0) (0)
〈Ep(0) |H (1) |En(0) 〉|Ep(0) 〉
p∕=n En − Ep
so !
(0) 1
〈Em |H (1) |En(1) 〉 = (0) (0)
〈Ep(0) |H (1) |En(0) 〉〈Em
(0)
|H (1) |Ep(0) 〉
p∕=n En − Ep
We also know
En(1) = 〈En(0) |H (1) |En(0) 〉
so
! 1
En(1) 〈Em
(0)
|En(1) 〉 = 〈En(0) |H (1) |En(0) 〉 (0) (0)
〈Ep(0) |H (1) |En(0) 〉δmp
p∕=n En − Ep
1
= (0) (0)
〈En(0) |H (1) |En(0) 〉〈Em
(0)
|H (1) |En(0) 〉
En − Em

1
Thus (for m ∕= n)
(0)
〈Em |H (2) |En 〉
(0) ! 〈Ep(0) |H (1) |En(0) 〉〈Em
(0) (0)
|H (1) |Ep 〉
(0) (0) (0)
〈En |H (1) |En 〉〈Em |H (1) |En 〉
(0)
c(2)
nm = (0) (0)
+ (0) (0) (0) (0)
− (0) (0) (0) (0)
En − Em p∕=n (En − Ep )(En − Em ) (En − Em )(En − Em )

However we still need to know cnn . We fix this by asking that

1 = 〈En |En 〉
" #" #
= 〈En(0) | + "〈En(1) | + "2 〈En(2) | |En(0) 〉 + "|En(1) 〉 + "2 |En(2) 〉

which at order "2 gives

0 = 〈En(0) |En(2) 〉 + 〈En(2) |En(0) 〉 + 〈En(1) |En(1) 〉

= cnn + c∗nn + 〈En(1) |En(1) 〉

Thus we take
1
cnn = − 〈En(1) |En(1) 〉
2
1 ! |〈Ep |H (1) |En 〉|2
(0) (0)
=−
2 p∕=n (En(0) − Ep(0) )2

In the notation we introduced in lecture this is

!
|En(2) 〉 = cnm |m〉
m

with setting H (2) = 0, for m ∕= n

Vmn ! Vpm Vmp Vnn Vmn
cnm = (0) (0)
+ (0) (0) (0) (0)
− (0) (0) (0) (0)
En − Em p∕=n (En − Em )(En − Ep ) (En − Em )(En − Em )

1! Vmn Vmn
c(2)
nn = − (0) (0) 2
2 m∕=n (En − Em )

2
2. Consider a toy model where the Hamiltonian Ĥ0 is a diagonal 3 × 3 matrix and
we introduce a perturbation αV̂ , where α ≪ 1,
$ & $ &
1 0 0 1 1 1
Ĥ0 = %0 2 0' , V̂ = %1 1 1' .
0 0 3 1 1 1

a) Find the first order corrections to the eigenvalues and the eigenvectors due to
the perturbation V̂ ,
b) Now consider the case when V̂ is the same, but Ĥ0 is given by
$ &
1 0 0
Ĥ0 = %0 2 0' .
0 0 2

What goes wrong if you try to find the corrections in this case?

Answer

a) At first order the shift in the energies is Vnn = 1, so the shifted energies of the
three states are

E1 = 1 + α + O(α2 ) , E2 = 2 + α + O(α2 ) , E3 = 3 + α + O(α2 ) ,

(0)
According to the usual formula, the shifted eigenvectors are (|n〉 = |En 〉)
$ &
! 1
Vn1
|E1 〉 ∼ |1〉 + α (0) (0)
|n〉 = % −α '
n∕=1 E1 − En − 12 α
$ &
! α
Vn2 %
|E2 〉 ∼ |2〉 + α (0) (0)
|n〉 = 1 '
n∕=2 E 2 − E n −α
$1 &
! α
Vn3 2
|E3 〉 ∼ |3〉 + α (0) (0)
|n〉 = α '
%
n∕=3 E 3 − E n 1

b) In this case we get for the correction to ψ2 and ψ3 a factor of 1/0, which does
not make sense.

3
3. Consider the harmonic oscillator in one dimension perturbed with a quartic term
V̂ = λx̂4 , such that

p̂2 1
Ĥ = Ĥ0 + V̂ = + mω 2 x̂2 + λx̂4 .
2m 2
(1)
Find the first order shifts for the energy levels En , i.e., calculate En = 〈n|V̂ |n〉.
You should find
3!2 λ ( )
En(1) = 2 2
1 + 2n + 2n2 .
4m ω
Convince yourself that no matter how small λ is, at some large enough n pertur-
bation theory will eventually break down.

Answer

It is usually helpful to use the raising and lowering operators (see earlier problem
sheet) * + , * + ,
† mω i mω i
â = x̂ − p̂ and â = x̂ + p̂ ,
2! mω 2! mω
The energy eigenstates are then given by

(↠)n
|n〉 ≡ √ |0〉, where â|0〉 ≡ 0.
n!

We have * *
! !mω
x̂ = (â + ↠) , p̂ = i (â − ↠) ,
2mω 2
So the unperturbed Hamiltonian is, as usual
+ ,
1 " 2 # † 1
Ĥ0 = p̂ + ω m x̂ = !ω â â +
2 2 2
2m 2

and V̂ is
!2
(â + ↠)4
V̂ = λx̂4 =
4m2 ω 2
We can expand and normal order the last term, but we will not need the full
expression for our purposes, rather we only need to find 〈n|V̂ |n〉, so we only need
the terms out of V̂ that have an equal number of raising and lowering operators.
So we write

(â + ↠)4 = · · · + ââ↠↠+ â↠â↠+ ↠ââ↠+ â↠↠â + ↠â↠â + ↠↠ââ + · · ·

4
Defining the number operator as n̂ = ↠â, which satisfies n̂|n〉 = n|n〉 and using
[â, ↠] = 1, we can write

↠↠ââ = n̂2 − n̂ , ↠â↠â = n̂2 ,

â↠↠â = n̂2 + n̂ , ↠ââ↠= n̂2 + n̂ ,
â↠â↠= (n̂ + 1)2 = n̂2 + 2n̂ + 1 ,
ââ↠↠= â↠â↠+ â↠= n̂2 + 2n̂ + 1 + n̂ + 1 = n̂2 + 3n̂ + 2 .

The sum is
6n̂2 + 6n̂ + 3
so
!2 λ † 4 !2 λ 2 3!2 λ
〈n|V̂ |n〉 = 〈n|(â+â ) |n〉 = 〈n|(6n̂ +6n̂+3)|n〉 = (2n2 +2n+1)
4m2 ω 2 4m2 ω 2 4m2 ω 2

(0)
For any λ there is a large enough n such that this expression is greater than En
as
3!2 λn2 2m2 ω 3
En(0) ∼ En(1) ⇔ n!ω ∼ ⇔ n ∼
2m2 ω 2 3!λ
If the second term in a Taylor expansion is much larger than the first one, the
series is unlikely to converge. It is actually possible to make estimates for larger
orders in perturbation theory and prove this statement.

5
4. Apply second order non-degenerate perturbation theory to the Hamiltonian
p2 1
H = H0 + "H ′ , H0 = + mω 2 x2 , H′ = x .
2m 2
Use this to find the eigenvalues of H to second order in ". Verify that these agree
with the results expected from simply shifting x → x + mω 2 " in the unperturbed
harmonic oscillator.
Harder:
There is an exact expression for the ground state of the perturbed Hamiltonian as
|0̃〉 = exp(λa† ) |0〉 ,
for some λ. To find λ, show that
H = !ω(ㆠã) + const
where ã = a + γ for some γ satisfies [ã, ㆠ] = 1 and use the defining property of
|0̃〉 that
ã|0̃〉 = 0
You can use the fact that a acts on states as a = d/da† .
Verify that the perturbative expression of |0̃〉 agrees with perturbation theory up
to second order.

Answer

We start from the definition of the creation and annihilation operators,

* *
mω p † mω p
â = (x + i ), â = (x − i )
2! mω 2! mω
+ ,
† † 1
[a, a ] = 1 , H0 = !ω a a +
2
The eigenstates of H0 are
1 √ √
|n〉 = √ (a† )n |0〉 , a† |n〉 = n + 1|n + 1〉 , a|n〉 = n|n − 1〉 ,
n!
1 1
H0 |n〉 = !ω(n + )|n〉 , En(0) = !ω(n + )
2 2
This means the perturbation is
*
′ !
H =x= (a + a† ) ,
2mω

6
and so we have
En(1) = 〈n|H ′ |n〉 = 0 ,
! 〈n|H ′ |m〉〈m|H ′ |n〉
En(2) =
m∕=n
!ω(n − m)
- .
! 〈n|(a + a† )|n + 1〉〈n + 1|(a + a† )|n〉 〈n|(a + a† )|n − 1〉〈n − 1|(a + a† )|n〉
= +
2mω −!ω !ω
- .
! (n + 1) n
= +
2mω −!ω !ω
1
=−
2mω 2
This is completely in agreement with the exact eigenvalues of the system which
are
1 "2
En = !ω(n + ) −
2 2mω 2
To find the ground state, we note that
p2 mω 2 " "2 p2 mω 2 2 "2
H= + (x + ) − = + (x̃) − ,
2m 2 mω 2 2mω 2 2m 2 2mω 2
where x̃ = x + "/(mω 2 ). This means that we can define new creation and annihi-
lation operators
*
mω p " "
ã = (x̃ + i )=a+ √ , ㆠ= a† + √ ,
2! mω 2!mω 3 2!mω 3
so that the full Hamiltonian is
′ 1 † "2
H0 + "H = !ω(ã ã + ) − .
2 2mω 2
The exact ground state of this Hamiltonian is |0̃〉 which satisfies
"
ã|0̃〉 = 0 , (a + √ )|0̃〉 = 0 .
2!mω 3
Using a = d/da† , this means
+ ,
d " " †
†
|0̃〉 = − √ |0̃〉 , |0̃〉 = exp − √ a |0〉
da 2!mω 3 2!mω 3
We can expand this out to second order,
" 1 "2 " "2
|0̃〉 = |0〉− √ a† |0〉+ (a † 2
) |0〉+. . . = |0〉− √ |1〉+ √ |2〉+. . .
2!mω 3 2 2!mω 3 2!mω 3 2 2!mω 3

7
 (1) (2)
We can can now check that these agree with the values of c0k and c0k :
* *
(1) Vk0 ! 〈k|(a + a† )|0〉 ! 〈k|1〉 1
c0k = = =− = −√ δk,1
ω0k 2mω !ω(0 − k) 2mω !ω(0 − k) 2!mω 3
(2)
! Vkp Vp0 Vk0 V00 ! ! 〈k|(a + a† )|p〉〈p|(a + a† )|0〉 1
c0k = − = = √ δk,2
p∕=0
ω0k ω0p (ω0k )
2
p∕=0
2mω ! 2 ω 2 pk 2 2 !mω 3

and so we get complete agreement.

8
5. Apply second order non-degenerate perturbation theory to the Hamiltonian
p2 1
H = H0 + "H ′ , H0 = + mω 2 x2 , H ′ = x2 .
2m 2
Use this to find the eigenvalues of H to second order in ".
Harder:
There is an exact expression for the ground state of the perturbed Hamiltonian as
|0̃〉 = exp(λ a† a† ) |0〉 ,
for some λ. To find λ, show that
H = !Ω(ㆠã) + const
for some value of Ω and where where ã = γa + δa† for some γ, δ satisfies [ã, ㆠ] = 1
and use the defining property of |0̃〉 that
ã|0̃〉 = 0
You can use the fact that a acts on states as a = d/da† .
Verify that the perturbative expression of |0̃〉 agrees with perturbation theory up
to first order.

Answer

Using the formulae from the previous answer, we can write the perturbation as
!
H ′ = x2 = (a + a† )2 .
2mω
and we can work out
+ , + , /√ 0
′ ! † 2 ! √
H |n〉 = (a + a ) |n〉 = (a + a† ) n|n − 1〉 + n + 1|n + 1〉
2mω 2mω
+ ,/ 0
! 1 1
= n(n − 1)|n − 2〉 + (2n + 1)|n〉 + (n + 1)(n + 2)|n + 2〉 .
2mω
This gives the energy corrections as
+ ,
(1) !
En = (2n + 1)
2mω
! |Vnk |2
En(2) =
k∕=n
ωnk
+ ,2 - .
! n(n − 1) (n + 1)(n + 2)
= +
2mω 2!ω −2!ω
!
= −(2n + 1) 2 3
4m ω

9
These are in agreement with the exact eigenvalues,
+ ,1/2 + ,
1 2" 1 1 " "2
En = !ω̃(n+ ) = !ω 1 + (n+ ) = !ω(n+ ) 1 + − + ...
2 mω 2 2 2 mω 2 2m2 ω 4

The exact ground state |0̃〉 can be found from its defining property,

ã|0̃〉 = 0

Here ã is defined as
* * * √
mω̃ p mω̃ ! 1 2!mω
ã = x + i√ = (a + a† ) + i √ (a − a† )
2! 2!mω̃ 2! 2mω 2!mω̃ 2i
*
eα + e−α eα − e−α † † α ω̃
= a+ a = (cosh α)a + (sinh α)a , e =
2 2 ω

Using a = d/da† , we have

d
†
|0̃〉 = − tanh α a† |0̃〉 ,
da + ,
1 † 2
|0̃〉 = exp − tanh α (a ) |0〉
2
1
= |0〉 − √ tanh α |2〉 + . . .
2
1 ω̃ − ω
= |0〉 − √ |2〉 + . . .
2 ω̃ + ω
1 (1 + 2"/(mω 2 ))1/2 − 1
= |0〉 − √ |2〉 + . . .
2 (1 + 2"/(mω 2 ))1/2 + 1
1 "
= |0〉 − √ |2〉 + . . .
2 2 mω 2
(1)
This again agrees with the formula for c0k :

(1) Vk0 ! √ 1 1
c0k = = 2δk,2 =− √ δk,2 .
ω0k 2mω −2!ω 2 2 mω 2

10