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15 views3 pages

Prob 1

Uploaded by

cerelia.dku
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PHY356

Problem set 1
posted 5 September 2024

Some general comments about problem sets in this course: Many


of the problems that will be posted in the course can be done with the aid of
M aple or M athematica, or other packages, and indeed if you came across such
a problem in a research or development program that would be the obvious way
to get a solution quickly. In fact, later in the course we will deal with such
problems where a computer solution is the appropriate strategy. But a goal
of many of the problems you will see, including all of those in this set, is to
help you learn how the formalism and the equations work in detail. So unless
otherwise indicated, you should try to work out the problems “by hand”
first.
Some comments about this particular problem set: This problem
set is a bit unusual. Typically there will be three or four problems, but here
there are a number of “warm up” problems to help you remind yourself of the
properties of matrices. The “real” problems here are problems 10-12, but make
sure you can also do the rest!
There are of course many different notations that are used in linear algebra.
If you came across one of these problems in a research or development program,
the natural approach would be to use the notation with which you are most
comfortable and familiar. But a goal of these problems is to make you com-
fortable and familiar with the particular notation used in this course. So you
should try to work out a solution in that notation.
1. Write down the transpose and adjoint of the matrix
0 1
6 4i
q = @ 1 + 2i 7i A.
2 3 + 5i

2. Multiply the matrices


0 1
6 4i ✓ ◆
@ 1 + 2i 7i A 3 7i 2 1
1 3i 4 15i 3
2 3 + 5i

as indicated.

1
3. Prove that
†
(ad) = d† a†
for any two matrices a and d that can be multiplied together.
4. Normalize the column ✓ ◆
3i
c= .
4
5. Find a nontrivial column orthogonal to
0 1
3
c = @ 4i A .
5

6. The two columns


✓ ◆
(1) 3
c = ,
4i
✓ ◆
1
c(2) = ,
i
are linearly independent. Use the Gram-Schmidt procedure to find two
orthonormal columns that span the same set of vectors that they do.
7. Prove that
Tr bb0 = Tr (b0 b) ,
even if b and b0 do not commute.
8. Is the identity matrix Hermitian? Is it unitary? Is the zero matrix Hermi-
tian? Is it unitary? Without using these matrices, or multiples of them,
give an example of a square matrix that is both Hermitian and unitary; an
example of a square matrix that is Hermitian but not unitary; an example
of a square matrix that is unitary but not Hermitian; an example of a
square matrix that is neither unitary nor Hermitian.
9. In the course we will use a set of three 2 ⇥ 2 matrices called the Pauli
matrices,
✓ ◆
0 1
x ⌘ ,
1 0
✓ ◆
0 i
y ⌘ ,
i 0
✓ ◆
1 0
z ⌘ .
0 1
The identity 2 ⇥ 2 matrix is sometimes denoted o,
✓ ◆
1 0
o ⌘ .
0 1

2
Considering these four matrices, which pairs commute and which pairs do
not?
10. Show that the eigenvalues of y are +1 and 1. Let the normalized eigen-
column associated with the eigenvalue +1 be c(1) and the normalized eigen-
column associated with the eigenvalue 1 by c(2) . Find c(1) and c(2) such
(1) (2)
that c1 is real and positive and c2 is real and positive. Then construct
the unitary matrix u such that
✓ ◆
1 0
u† y u = .
0 1

11. Consider the Hermitian matrix:


0 1
9/4 i/4 3(i 1)/4
b = @ i/4 9/4 3(i + 1)/4 A .
3(i + 1)/4 3(i 1)/4 10/4

(a) Write down the characteristic equation that determines the eigenval-
ues of the matrix. You need not solve it for the eigenvalues. They
are in fact 1, 2, and 4.
(b) Let c(1) , c(2) , and c(3) be the eigencolumns associated with the eigen-
values 1, 2, and 4 respectively

bc(1) = c(1) ,
(2)
bc = 2c(2) ,
bc(3) = 4c(3) .

Find a normalized c(1) , c(2) , and c(3) . Choose the phases of these
(1) (2) (3)
columns so that c2 , c1 , and c3 are real and positive.
(c) Then write down a unitary matrix u that diagonalizes b,
0 1
1 0 0
u bu = @ 0
†
2 0 A.
0 0 4

12. Find the eigenvalues and a set of eigencolumns of the Hermitian matrix
0 1
1 0 1
a = @ 0 0 0 A,
1 0 1

and construct a unitary matrix that diagonalizes it.

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