format_list_numbered Sequence

Completeness Relations
This set of activities explores completeness relations in quantum mechanics and how they eventually support understanding of wavefunctions and what it means to be in the position or momentum representatations.

group Small Group Activity

10 min.

Changing Spin Bases with a Completeness Relation
Quantum Fundamentals 2023 (3 years)

Completeness Relations Quantum States

Completeness Relations

Students work in small groups to use completeness relations to change the basis of quantum states.

group Small Group Activity

120 min.

Spin-1 Time Evolution
Quantum Fundamentals 2023

Time Evolution Spin-1

Students do calculations for time evolution for spin-1.

face Lecture

30 min.

Compare & Contrast Kets & Wavefunctions

Bra-Ket Notations Wavefunction Notation Completeness Relations Probability Probability Density

Completeness Relations

In this lecture, the instructor guides a discussion about translating between bra-ket notation and wavefunction notation for quantum systems.

assignment Homework

Completeness Relation Change of Basis
change of basis spin half completeness relation dirac notation

Completeness Relations

Quantum Fundamentals 2023 (3 years)
  1. Given the polar basis kets written as a superposition of Cartesian kets \begin{eqnarray*} \left|{\hat{s}}\right\rangle &=& \cos\phi \left|{\hat{x}}\right\rangle + \sin\phi \left|{\hat{y}}\right\rangle \\ \left|{\hat{\phi}}\right\rangle &=& -\sin\phi \left|{\hat{x}}\right\rangle + \cos\phi \left|{\hat{y}}\right\rangle \end{eqnarray*}

    Find the following quantities: \[\left\langle {\hat{x}}\middle|{\hat{s}}\right\rangle ,\quad \left\langle {\hat{y}}\middle|{{\hat{s}}}\right\rangle ,\quad \left\langle {\hat{x}}\middle|{\hat{\phi}}\right\rangle ,\quad \left\langle {\hat{y}}\middle|{\hat{\phi}}\right\rangle \]

  2. Given a vector written in the polar basis \[\left|{\vec{v}}\right\rangle = a\left|{\hat{s}}\right\rangle + b\left|{\hat{\phi}}\right\rangle \] where \(a\) and \(b\) are known. Find coefficients \(c\) and \(d\) such that \[\left|{\vec{v}}\right\rangle = c\left|{\hat{x}}\right\rangle + d\left|{\hat{y}}\right\rangle \] Do this by using the completeness relation: \[\left|{\hat{x}}\right\rangle \left\langle {\hat{x}}\right| + \left|{\hat{y}}\right\rangle \left\langle {\hat{y}}\right| = 1\]
  3. Using a completeness relation, change the basis of the spin-1/2 state \[\left|{\Psi}\right\rangle = g\left|{+}\right\rangle + h\left|{-}\right\rangle \] into the \(S_y\) basis. In otherwords, find \(j\) and \(k\) such that \[\left|{\Psi}\right\rangle = j\left|{+}\right\rangle _y + k\left|{-}\right\rangle _y\]

assignment Homework

Dimensional Analysis of Kets
dirac notation dimensions probability completeness relations

Completeness Relations

  1. \(\left\langle {\Psi}\middle|{\Psi}\right\rangle =1\) Identify and discuss the dimensions of \(\left|{\Psi}\right\rangle \).
  2. For a spin \(\frac{1}{2}\) system, \(\left\langle {\Psi}\middle|{+}\right\rangle \left\langle {+}\middle|{\Psi}\right\rangle + \left\langle {\Psi}\middle|{-}\right\rangle \left\langle {-}\middle|{\Psi}\right\rangle =1\). Identify and discuss the dimensions of \(\left|{+}\right\rangle \) and \(\left|{-}\right\rangle \).
  3. In the position basis \(\int \left\langle {\Psi}\middle|{x}\right\rangle \left\langle {x}\middle|{\Psi}\right\rangle dx = 1\). Identify and discuss the dimesions of \(\left|{x}\right\rangle \).

group Small Group Activity

60 min.

Going from Spin States to Wavefunctions
Quantum Fundamentals 2023 (2 years)

Wavefunctions quantum states probability amplitude histograms matrix notation of quantum states Arms representation

Arms Sequence for Complex Numbers and Quantum States

Completeness Relations

Students review using the Arms representation to represent states for discrete quantum systems and connecting the Arms representation to histogram and matrix representation. The student then extend the Arms representation to begin exploring the continuous position basis.

assignment Homework

Matrix Elements and Completeness Relations

Completeness Relations

Quantum Fundamentals 2023 (3 years)

Writing an operator in matrix notation in its own basis is easy: it is diagonal with the eigenvalues on the diagonal.

What if I want to calculate the matrix elements using a different basis??

The eigenvalue equation tells me what happens when an operator acts on its own eigenstate. For example: \(\hat{S}_y\left|{\pm}\right\rangle _y=\pm\frac{\hbar}{2}\left|{\pm}\right\rangle _y\)

In Dirac bra-ket notation, to know what an operator does to a ket, I needs to write the ket in the basis that is the eigenstates of the operator (in order to use the eigenvalue equation.)

One way to do this to stick completeness relationships into the braket: \begin{eqnarray*} \left\langle {+}\right|\hat{S_y}\left|{+}\right\rangle = \left\langle {+}\right|(I)\hat{S_y}(I)\left|{+}\right\rangle \end{eqnarray*}

where \(I\) is the identity operator: \(I=\color{blue}{\left|{+}\right\rangle _{yy}\left\langle {+}\right|}\;+\;\color{blue}{\left|{-}\right\rangle _{yy}\left\langle {-}\right|}\). This effectively rewrite the \(\left|{+}\right\rangle \) in the \(\left|{\pm}\right\rangle _y\) basis.

Find the top row matrix elements of the operator \(\hat{S}_y\) in the \(S_z\) basis by inserting completeness relations into the brakets. (The answer is already on the Spins Reference Sheet, but I want you do demonstrate the calculation.)

group Small Group Activity

30 min.

Outer Product of a Vector on Itself
Quantum Fundamentals 2023 (2 years)

Projection Operators Outer Products Matrices

Completeness Relations

Students compute the outer product of a vector on itself to product a projection operator. Students discover that projection operators are idempotent (square to themselves) and that a complete set of outer products of an orthonormal basis is the identity (a completeness relation).

computer Computer Simulation

30 min.

Visualization of Power Series Approximations
Theoretical Mechanics (13 years)

Taylor series power series approximation

Power Series Sequence (E&M)

Students use prepared Sage code or a prepared Mathematica notebook to plot \(\sin\theta\) simultaneously with several terms of a power series expansion to judge how well the approximation fits. Students can alter the worksheet to change the number of terms in the expansion and even to change the function that is being considered. Students should have already calculated the coefficients for the power series expansion in a previous activity, Calculating Coefficients for a Power Series.

group Small Group Activity

30 min.

Gravitational Force

Mechanics Gravitational Force Gravitational Potential Energy Derivatives Introductory Physics

Students examine a plastic "surface" graph of the gravitational potential energy of a Earth-satellite system to make connections between gravitational force and gravitational potential energy.

face Lecture

30 min.

Review of Thermal Physics
Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

thermodynamics statistical mechanics

These are notes, essentially the equation sheet, from the final review session for Thermal and Statistical Physics.

group Small Group Activity

30 min.

Energy and Angular Momentum for a Quantum Particle on a Ring

central forces quantum mechanics eigenstates eigenvalues quantum measurements angular momentum energy hermitian operators probability superposition representations notations degeneracy

Quantum Ring Sequence

Students calculate probabilities for a particle on a ring using three different notations: Dirac bra-ket, matrix, and wave function. After calculating the angular momentum and energy measurement probabilities, students compare their calculation methods for notation.

keyboard Computational Activity

120 min.

Position operator
Computational Physics Lab II 2022

quantum mechanics operator matrix element particle in a box eigenfunction

Students find matrix elements of the position operator \(\hat x\) in a sinusoidal basis. This allows them to express this operator as a matrix, which they can then numerically diagonalize and visualize the eigenfunctions.

face Lecture

120 min.

Ideal Gas
Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

ideal gas particle in a box grand canonical ensemble chemical potential statistical mechanics

These notes from week 6 of Thermal and Statistical Physics cover the ideal gas from a grand canonical standpoint starting with the solutions to a particle in a three-dimensional box. They include a number of small group activities.

face Lecture

120 min.

Boltzmann probabilities and Helmholtz
Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

ideal gas entropy canonical ensemble Boltzmann probability Helmholtz free energy statistical mechanics

These notes, from the third week of Thermal and Statistical Physics cover the canonical ensemble and Helmholtz free energy. They include a number of small group activities.

face Lecture

120 min.

Fermi and Bose gases
Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

Fermi level fermion boson Bose gas Bose-Einstein condensate ideal gas statistical mechanics phase transition

These lecture notes from week 7 of Thermal and Statistical Physics apply the grand canonical ensemble to fermion and bosons ideal gasses. They include a few small group activities.