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2 Dynamical Variables and Observables

Linear operators act on ket vectors and produce new ket vectors. The sum and product of linear operators are also linear operators. Linear operators correspond to dynamical variables of a quantum system, such as position, velocity, and momentum. The adjoint of a linear operator is its complex conjugate, and a self-adjoint operator corresponds to a real dynamical variable. The order of operators matters in a product, unless they commute.

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Mohamed Mohamed
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73 views3 pages

2 Dynamical Variables and Observables

Linear operators act on ket vectors and produce new ket vectors. The sum and product of linear operators are also linear operators. Linear operators correspond to dynamical variables of a quantum system, such as position, velocity, and momentum. The adjoint of a linear operator is its complex conjugate, and a self-adjoint operator corresponds to a real dynamical variable. The order of operators matters in a product, unless they commute.

Uploaded by

Mohamed Mohamed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2-Dynamical variables and observables

Summary
Linear operators
We will now consider a ket vector which is linear function of a ket vector leading to the
concept of linear operator.

Consider | F ⟩ which is a linear function of | A ⟩ we can see that the passage from | A ⟩ to | F ⟩ as
an application of a linear operator α to | A ⟩ so we can write

| F ⟩=α |A ⟩

|
α { A ⟩ +| A ' ⟩ }=α | A ⟩ +α | A ' ⟩
2.1
α {c| A ⟩ }=cα | A ⟩
Linear operators always written to the right of the
ket

Linear operators said to be equal when they produce the same result on every ket

The sum of two linear operators is linear operator and treated as

{ α + β }| A ⟩=α | A ⟩ + β| A ⟩
2.2
Those laws shows that the product of linear
operators with ket satisfy distributive law of multiplication.

Also the product of linear operators is defined to be linear operator but the order of the
multiplication is important (except if the linear operator are equal).

{αβ }| A ⟩ =α { β| A ⟩ }
2.3
Also operators can apply on bra vectors as

{ ⟨ B|α }| A ⟩ =| B ⟩ {α | A ⟩ }
2.4
The operator is always to the right of the bra
vector

A product of KET AND BRA | A ⟩ ⟨ B|is also acts like a linear operator
As we assign that the kets and bras to the system states the linear operator is the
dynamical variables of the system (coordination, velocity, momentum).

Conjugate relations
We figured out the operator corresponds to dynamical variables, but we like to know which
corresponds to a real dynamical variable.

We will introduce the adjoint of operator ά which will make us know that imaginary
conjugate of ⟨ A|α is ά | A ⟩ which let us know that

⟨ A|ά|B ⟩= ⟨ B|α´ | A ⟩
2.5
⟨ B|ά =⟨ B|α
The adjoint of operator is the complex conjugate of
dynamical variable

A self adjoint operator is real dynamical variable

Also a product of 2 linear operators

´
β́ ά=αβ
2.6
So the conjugate complex of the product of 2 linear
operators is equal to the product of their conjugate complex in the reverse order

This concept also introduce new contradiction between quantum mechanics and classical
mechanics where if α and β are real αβ is not real but αβ + βα and i(αβ −βα ) are real

If the product of 2 linear operators are real then the 2 linear operator commute

so the conjugate complex of the product of three linear Operators equals the product of
the conjugate complexes of the factors in the reverse Order. The rule mey easily be
extended to the product of any number of linear Operators.

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