QT202 @ IISc – Introduction to Quantum Measurement Baladitya Suri

Problem Set 1 – Jan 2024

Q1 Consider a particle of charge q and mass m moving in an electromagnetic field. The Lorentz
force acting on the particle in gaussian units is given by:

v
F = q[E + ⇥ B]
c

where v is its velocity and c is the speed of light.

(a) Express E and B fields in terms of a scalar potential and a vector potential A.

(b) Write down the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian for the particle’s motion?

(c) Make a gauge transformation of the potentials as:

1@
A0 = A + r , 0
=
c @t

for any scalar function .

(d) How do the Lagrangian, Hamiltonian and equations of motion change under the gauge
transformation?

(e) Repeat the derivation for the dipole interaction of an atom with an EM field done in
class.

Q2 Rederive the Rabi Hamiltonian from the dipole interaction Hamiltonian of the atom-light
interaction.

Q3 Consider the Schrodinger equation written in terms of the time-evolution operator U as

@U (t)
i~ = V (t)U (t)
@t

(a) Show that the solution for the “operator” U (t) can be written as

1 ✓
X ◆ Z Z Z tn
i n t t1 1
U (t) = 1̂ + ··· V (t1 )V (t2 ) · · · V (tn )dt1 dt2 · · · dtn
~ 0 0 0
n=1

– The Dyson Series.

(b) Introduce a time-ordering operator T that takes any number of operators as its ar-
guments, and is defined as T (V (t01 ), V (t02 ), . . . V (t0n )) = V (t1 )V (t2 ) . . . V (tn ), where

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QT202 @ IISc – Introduction to Quantum Measurement Baladitya Suri

t1 > t2 > . . . > tn and the primed time instants are not in any order.

Using T , show that the above Dyson series can be rewritten as

1
X ✓ ◆n Z t Z t Z t
1 i
U (t) = 1̂ + ··· T (V (t1 )V (t2 ) · · · V (tn ))dt1 dt2 · · · dtn
n! ~ 0 0 0
n=1

It is this expression which now has the semblance of an exponential, and is usually
denoted
Rt
i V (⌧ )d⌧
U (t) = T e 0

p̂2 p m! p
Q4 Consider a spring-mass system given by Ĥ = 2m + 12 m! 2 x̂2 . By defining â = 2~ [x̂ + i m! ],
we showed that Ĥ = (↠â + 12 )~!.

(a) Consider a simple pendulum of length L, mass m moving under acceleration due to
gravity g. In the small oscillations limit construct the operator â for this system.

(b) Show that the eigenvalues of ↠â are non-negative integers.

(c) If |ni are the eigenkets of ↠â, evaluate â |ni and ↠|ni.

(d) Evaluate [↠â, â] and [↠â, ↠].

(e) Verify (no need to rigorously prove) that for any two operators Â, B̂, we have the Baker-
Campbell-Hausdorff (BCH) result given by :

[Â, B̂] [Â, [Â, B̂]]

e+Â B̂e Â
= B̂ + + + ···
1! 2!

Â2 P1 Âk
Note: e = 1̂ +  + 2! + ··· = k=0 k!

(f) If  = i!t(a† a), compute e B̂e  for (i) B̂ = â and (ii) B̂ = ↠.

(g) Using the above result, write down the interaction picture Hamiltonian for

~⌦d
Htot = H0 + H1 = ~!r a† a + (aei!d t + a† e i!d t
)
2

(h) Also transform Htot into the rotating frame of the drive using the unitary transformation
† a) ~⌦d
U (t) = ei!d t(a and show that H̃ = ~ a† a + 2 (a + a† ), where ⌘ !r !d

(i) For any two operators Â, B̂, such that [Â, B̂] is a non-zero number (i.e., proportional to

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QT202 @ IISc – Introduction to Quantum Measurement Baladitya Suri

identity operator), verify that

t2
et(A+B) = etA · etB · e 2
[A,B]
,

where t is a number.
† "⇤ â
(j) Use the above result to evaluate e"â where " is a complex number.

Q5 Consider a spin half system given by the Hamiltonian

z
H = ~!a
2

(a) Evaluate the eigenvectors of x given by |+i and | i in terms of the eigenvectors of z,

namely |"i and |#i

(b) Evaluate the eigenvectors of y given by |!i and | i in terms of |"i and |#i
x ±i y
(c) Construct the matrices ± = 2 .

(d) Evaluate the action of ± on the eigenvectors |"i and |#i of z.

(e) Evaluate the action of ± on the eigenvectors |+i and | i of x.

(f) Evaluate the action of ± on the eigenvectors |!i and | i of y.

(g) Verify the commutation relation [ i , j] = 2i✏ijk k.

(h) Using the above, evaluate [ ±, z ].

(i) Using the above, and the BCH formula in the previous problem, show that

z z ±i!d t
ei!d t 2 · ± ·e i!d t 2 = ±e

(j) Using the above results, compute the interaction picture Hamiltonian for

z ~⌦d
H = ~!a + ( ei!d t + +e
i!d t
)
2 2

(k) Using the above results, compute the Hamiltonian in the rotating frame of the drive for

z ~⌦d
H = ~!a + ( ei!d t + +e
i!d t
)
2 2

(Refer to the analogous problem on harmonic oscillators given earlier)

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QT202 @ IISc – Introduction to Quantum Measurement Baladitya Suri

Note: Do you see a similarity between the properties of + and a† ? Similarly and a ?
In other words, ± are the ladder operators for a spin half system. However, the ladder
there only has two rungs.

Q6 (a) Normalise the probability density given below (i.e., find A)

(x x0 )2
⇢(x) = Ae 2

(b) Compute hxi, hx2 i and h( x)2 i for ⇢(x).

(c) Now consider the wave function:

(x x0 )2 ip0 x
(x) = N e 2 2 e ~

Find N .
~2
(d) Verify that h( x̂)2 ih( p̂)2 i = 4 (You can look up standard Gaussian integrals for this)

(e) Show that, in general, a minimum uncertainty state has a Gaussian wave function. A
~
minimum uncertainty state is characterised by ( x) · ( p) = 2 (You can look up this
standard derivation).

(f) Look up in any standard textbook the derivation for the generalised uncertainty principle
for any two non-commuting observables A and B given by

1
A B |h[A, B]i|
2

Q7 Given the Schrodinger equation i~ @|@t i = H | i

(a) Write down the corresponding time evolution equation for the operator ⇢ = | i h |.

(b) Express the ket | i in the energy eigenbasis given by H | ni = En | ni and evaluate the
quantity Tr[⇢ · H]. Interpret this result according to the usual rules of statistics.

(c) Consider another operator ⌦ such that ⌦ | ni = !n | n i. Evaluate Tr[⇢ · ⌦]. What does
this represent?
⇥ ⇤
(d) Show that Tr[⇢] = 1 and Tr ⇢2 = 1. (Note: The operator ⇢ is called the density
operator of the system for a reason.)

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QT202 @ IISc – Introduction to Quantum Measurement Baladitya Suri

(e) If ⇢ˆ1 = | 1i h 1| and ⇢ˆ2 = | 2i h 2| and | 1i and | 2i are any two states of a quantum
system. Show that T r[ˆ
⇢1 · ⇢ˆ2 ] is real and less than 1.
Pk P
k
(f) Consider ⇢ˆ = pi | i i h i |, which is a general density matrix when pi = 1 and
i=1 i=1
{| i i}ki=1 are not necessarily orthogonal kets. For such a ⇢ show that T r[ˆ
⇢2 ] < 1.

~ ~ ~
Q8 Consider the spin- 12 operators. Ŝx = 2 x, Ŝy = 2 y and Ŝz = 2 z. We will use the same
notation as used earlier in the homework for the eigenstates of the pauli matrices.

(a) Consider the below density operators.

(i) ⇢ˆ1 = |+i h+|

(ii) ⇢ˆ2 = |!i h!|

(iii) ⇢ˆ3 = 12 (|+i h+| + | i h |

(b) Evaluate their matrices in the z basis.

(c) Evaluate the same in the x and y bases .

(d) Comment on the results.

(e) Consider the Hamiltonian for a spin half particle in a constant, uniform magnetic field
B = Bz ez in the Z-direction:
e
H= S·B
mc

At time t=0, ⇢(0) = 12 (|+i h+| + | i h |)

Evaluate hSx (t)i, hSy (t)i, andhSz (t)i.

Q9 Consider a system of two spin- 12 particles A and B. In the notation below the state |"i and
|#i are the z eigenstates for each particle. Consider the following states of the two-particle
system, where the first index always pertains to particle A and the second index to particle
B:

| 1i = p1 [|", "i + |#, #i]

2

| 2i = p1 [|", "i |#, #i]

2

| 3i = p1 [|", #i + |#, "i]

2

| 4i = p1 [|", #i |#, "i]

2

(a) Compute the density operators for each of the above states.

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QT202 @ IISc – Introduction to Quantum Measurement Baladitya Suri

(b) Compute the density matrices for each of the above states in the z eigenbasis {|"i , |#i}.

(c) Compute the density matrices in the x eigenbasis {|+i , | i}

✓
pN (a a† )
Q10 (a) Show that U = e N
+
diagonalises

ˆz
H = ~!r a† a + ~!a + ~g(a + + a† )
2
⇣ p ⌘
2g N
where ✓N = 12 tan 1 , N = a† a + z
2 + 1
2
g † 2
(b) Show that U given above approaches Ud = e (a + a ) for small n
ncrit where ncrit = 4g 2
⇣ ⌘
2
(c) Compute H̃ = Ud · H · Ud† up to O g and show that :

ˆz g2
H̃ (2) ⇡ ~!r a† a + ~˜
!a + ~ (a† a) ˆz
2

Q11 Consider the Hamiltonian:

ˆz ~⌦r i!t ~⌦q

H = ~!r a† a + ~!a + ~g(a + + a† )+ [ae + a† e i!t
]+ [ e+i!t + +e
i!t
]
2 2 2

Compute H̃ = Ud · H · Ud† .

Q12 Consider the Rabi hamiltonian:

~!a z ~⌦ h i!d t i
i
HR = + +e + ei!d t+i
2 } 2
| {z
H0

At t = 0, the qubit is in the ground state |gi.

(a) Write down the state | S (t)i and | I (t)i at time “t”. (This was already solved earlier,
so you don’t need to rederive the whole thing. You may just write down the final
expressions.) (S ! Shcrodinger picture; I ! interaction picture).

(b) If the drive is applied for a finite time ⌧ , how does the ket | S (t)i behave for t > ⌧ ? How
does the ket | I (t)i behave for t > ⌧ .

Q13 Analyse the following pulse segments (write down the qubit state in the interaction picture at
the marked times) using density matrices to represent the state at the beginning and end of
each pulse.

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QT202 @ IISc – Introduction to Quantum Measurement Baladitya Suri

X⇡/2 X⇡ X⇡/2 X⇡/2 Y⇡ X⇡/2

⌧ ⌧ ⌧ ⌧
!
˜a !
˜a !
˜a !
˜a !
˜a !
˜a
t(ns) t(ns)
Figure 1: spin-echo with X⇡ pulse

Y⇡/2 X⇡/2
X✓ Y✓

!
˜a !
˜a
!
˜a !
˜a

T t(ns) T t(ns)

Q14 The displacement operator for an oscillator is defined as:

† ↵⇤ a
D(↵) = e↵a

for some complex number ↵.

[A,B]
(a) Verify that eA+B = eA · eB · e 2 when A and B do not commute and [A, B] commutes
with both A and B.

(b) Show that for any operator X such that [X, Ẋ] commutes with X,

" # " #
@eX [ Ẋ, X] [ Ẋ, X]
= eX Ẋ + = Ẋ + eX
@t 2 2

(c) If ↵(t) is a time-dependent parameter, evaluate, using the result in (b),

D(↵)Ḋ† (↵)

(d) Show that D(↵) |0i = |↵i where |↵i is a coherent state and |0i is the ground state of the
oscillator.

(e) Evaluate D(↵)aD† (↵), D(↵)a† D† (↵), D(↵)a† aD† (↵). (The name displacement operator
now make sense, right?)

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QT202 @ IISc – Introduction to Quantum Measurement Baladitya Suri

Q15 For a spring mass system,

k
m

Figure 2: spring-mass

show that hx|↵i and hp|↵i are Gaussian functions. |↵i is a coherent state.

1. Evaluate hx(t)i↵ and hp(t)i↵ .

2. If x2 ⌘ hx2 i↵ hxi2↵ and p2 ⌘ hp2 i↵ hpi2↵ , what is x2 p2 ? Hint: You can directly write
this down after solving (a).

Q16 Start with the Hamiltonian:

ˆz X X
H = ~!a + ~!k b†k bk + ~ gk [ + bk + b†k ]
2
k k

for a qubit coupled to a TL. Go through the calculation shown in the lecture notes and derive
the Master Equation for the qubit, first in the interaction picture and finally Schrodinger
picture.

Q17 For an oscillator coupled to an environment, verify that:

dhai i!d t
= i!0 hai hai + if0 e
dt 2

dha† ai
and compute dt and show that ha† ai ⇠ e t

Q18 Show that the “steady state” of a driven damped Harmonic oscillator is a “coherent” state. (at
T = 0 K). Follow the steps below:

(a) Start with the system master equation

@⇢ i 
= [Hsys , ⇢] + {2a⇢a† a† a⇢ ⇢aa† }
@t ~ 2

~!a ~⌦
where Hsys = 2
z
+ 2 [ae
i!d t + a† e i!d t ]

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QT202 @ IISc – Introduction to Quantum Measurement Baladitya Suri

(b) Define ⇢ = D(↵)˜

⇢D† (↵) and write down the master equation for ⇢˜. Here use the results
in Q3.

(c) Show that if ↵ satisfies the classical damped harmonic oscillator equation (refer to class
notes), the master equation for ⇢˜ reduces to the “undriven” oscillator.

(d) What is the steady state for ⇢˜?

(e) What is the steady state for ⇢?