Postulates

of QM
State vector / wavefunction
Observable / operator
Measurement

State of a system
Postulate 1: Every quantum mechanical system is described by a complexvalued wave function or state vector which contains all the information about
the system.

Example:

Ground state of a 1D SHO:

0 (x)

0 (x)

1
4

m!
~

m!
x2
(
)
2~
e

Energy eigenstates in a 1D infinite square well potential

n (x)

n (x)

2
L

sin

A spin state of an electron:

|i =

1
0

n
L x

State of a system

Corollary

A wavefunction contains all the information about a system.

| (x)|2 dx =the

prob. density of finding the ptcl betwn. x and x+dx

1D SHO

A wavefunction is arbitrary up to an overall phase factor

If a wave function is multiplied by a complex number, it still describes the
same system, i.e. for any wave function
(x),

(x), 3 (x), (2 + 5i) (x), ei/3 (x)

all describe the same physical state

Representa6on

State of a system

A wave function or state vector can be represented in many different

formats. Some commonly used representations are:

(i) Position space representation:

0 (x) =

(ii) Matrix representation: |i =

1
0

(iii) Superposition of eigenstates:

N
X

(x) =
ci i (x)

i=1

To describe a physical system,

must be:

- finite

- continuous

- singled valued

(x)

m!
~

1
4

2
m!
e ( 2~ )x

| i=
and

N
X
i=1

ci | i i

@ (x)
@x

State of a system
Probability density: Borns probabilistic interpretation: square of the norm of the
wavefunction | (~
r, t)|2 represents probability density, i.e., the quantity

2 3
|
(~
r
,
t)|
d r

gives the probability of finding the system between ~
r and ~r + d~r at time t

Ex.: Energy eigenstates of 1D SHO and their associated probability densi=es

State of a system

X
Probability density (contd.):
ci (t)| i i , the
More generally, for a state vector of the form | (t)i =
2
norms squared |ci (t)| represent the probability of the system being in basis
state | i i at time t
Superposi=on principle: The linear superposition of two or more
wavefunction represents a state in the same Hilbert space

Normaliza=on: Since the total probability of finding a QM particle at any

position is unity at any time, a wavefunction is usually normalized, i.e.,

2 3

| (~r, t)| d r = 1

cf.

|ci (t)|2 = 1

Observables and operators

Observable : dynamical variable that can be measured

Postulate 2: For every dynamical variable, there is an associated linear operator.
For physical observables, the operator has to be Hermitian.

Dynamical variable linear operator

Physical observable Hermi=an operator

Examples:

p~ ! P~ =
p2
!
2m

p2
+ V (~r, t) !
2m

~
i~r

linear momentum

~2 2
r
2m

kinetic energy

~2 2
r + V (~r, t)
2m

~ = ~r p~ ! L
~ =
L

~ r
~
i~R

total energy / Hamiltonian

angular momentum

Observables and operators

Correspondence principle: replace variables with

corresponding operators in classical physics equations, e.g.,

p2
Total energy of a particle:

+ V (~r, t) = E
2m

Schrodinger equation:

~2 2
@ (~r, t)

r (~r, t) + V (~r, t) (~r, t) = i~

2m
@t

Measurement

The concept of measurement (of a physical observable such as position,

momentum, energy) in QM differs radically from classical physics

Measurement aects a QM system in a fundamental manner
Postulate 3: Result of a measurement yields one of the
eigenvalues of the associated Hermitian operator.

Example: A 1D SHO is in an arbitrary state described by a wave
function which is a linear superposition of its energy eigenstates

N
X

(x) =
ci i (x), ci 2 Z

i=1

If the energy of the state is measured, the

outcome will be one of the energy eigenvalues,

Ei .

Measurement
Consider an ensemble (many identical copies) of a QM system described by
the wave function

N
X

(x) =
ci i (x), ci 2 Z

i=1
where i (x) are the energy eigenstates with energies Ei

Prepare an ensemble (thought expt.)

(x)
Measure
energy

(illustra=ve)

New
state

(x)

E3

E7

3 (x)

3 (x)

(x)

E9

3 (x)

(x)

E4

3 (x)

(x)

E5

3 (x)

(x)

E8

3 (x)

(x)

(x)

E2

E1

E3

3 (x)

3 (x)

(x)

3 (x)

Corollary 1: Following a measurement, the system changes fundamentally. It

is no longer in its original state. Instead the particle goes to the
corresponding eigenstate this is known as the collapse of wavefunction.

Corollary 2: If the state is prepared in an eigenstate, then all the measurement
outcomes will be the same.

Measurement
The outcome of a measurement is probabilis3c
Postulate 4: The probability of obtaining one of the (non-degenerate)
eigenvalues in a measurement is given by the modulus squared of the
amplitude of the corresponding eigenvector in the expansion of the
state vector in the basis of the eigenstates of the operator.

Consider the state from the previous slide:
(x) =

N
X
i=1

ci i (x),

ci 2 Z

Probability of obtaining energy eigenvalue Ei in a measurement is

|ci |2
|ci |2
P (Ei ) =
=R
h | i
dx (x) (x)

In Dirac bra-ket notation:

X
ci | i i
State vector:
| i =
i

Probability:

H| i i = Ei | i i

|ci |2
|ci |2
P (Ei ) =
= PN
2
h | i
i=1 |ci |

For normalised wave functions,

P (Ei ) = |ci |2

Measurement
The outcome of a measurement is probabilis3c

The outcome of individual measurements of an observable is probabilistic. If

such a measurement is carried out for an ensemble of identical systems, the
weighted average of all measurements is called the expectation value.

in a state | i is given
Expectation value: The expectation value of an operator A
by the weighted average of all the eigenvalues

i X

h |A|

=
hAi

h | i

ai P (ai )

N
X

ci i (x),
For the state considered in the previous slide,
(x) =
i=1

the expectation value of the energy in this state will be

R
N
dx (x)H (x) X 2
hEi = R
=
|ci | P (Ei )
dx (x) (x)
i=1

(this would be the classical energy)

ci 2 Z

Summary
State of a system: QM system is represented by a wavefunction / state vector

Probabilistic interpretation: |(x)|2 = prob. Of finding ptcl. betwn. x and x+dx

Observable: Every physical observable associated with a Hermitian operator

Measurement: Measurement fundamentally affects a QM system. The outcome of
a measurement in a mixed state is probabilistic - each masurement yields one of
the eigenvalues of the associated Hermitian operator.

Collapse of wavefunction: Following a measurement which yields a particular
eigenvalue, the system collapses to the corresponding eigenvector - all mixed
character of the original state is lost.

Expectation value: If a measurement of an operator is carried out for an
ensemble of identical systems, the weighted average of all measurements is called
the expectation value of the operator in that state.