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C, with the inner product h·, ·i. Absolutely no knowledge of physics is required,
but it is assumed that the reader is familiar with vector spaces and linear maps.
In mathematics, linear maps are commonly called linear transformations. In
physics, they are usually called linear operators. These three wordings are
equivalent.
1 Linear Operators
1.1 Hermitian operators
If a linear operator A over the space V has the following property:
[A, B] = AB − BA (2)
Hermitian operators where [A, B] = i are said to be canonically conjugate.
Such pairs of operators are very important in quantum physics, and we will see
many examples of them later on.
Aψ = aψ (3)
Then ψ is called an eigenvector of A and a is the corresponding eigenvalue.
Now we are ready to prove a very useful fact about Hermitian operators:
Theorem. If ψ1 and ψ2 are two distinct eigenvectors of A and their corre-
sponding eigenvectors a1 and a2 are not equal, we have:
hψ1 , ψ2 i = 0 (4)
Proof. Since the two vectors are eigenvalues, we have:
1
hψ2 , Aψ1 i = hψ2 , a1 ψ1 i = a1 hψ2 , ψ1 i (6)
Where we have used the property that the inner product is linear in the
second argument. Now we invoke the fact that A is Hermitian on (6):
2 Unitary transformations
Let U be a linear operator from V to the vector space W . If, for all vectors
in V , hU φ, U ψi = hφ, ψi then we say U is unitary. We call it anti-unitary if
hU φ, U ψi = hψ, φi.
Theorem (Wigner).
3 Quantum Mechanics
Quantum mechanics has a set of postulates. These are rules that have been
determined by experiment, and are given without proof. They relate our purely
mathematical world to the actual physical world.
3.1 Measurement
The most basic postulate of quantum mechanics is that the set of possible states
of a physical system is actually a subset of a vector space over a complex field,
and that the act of perfoming a measurement on the system is just equivalent
to transforming the state of the system with a Hermitian operator. In addition,
the eigenvalues of the operator are the possible values that the measurement
may give us.
Measurements include, for example, the position of a particle, the momen-
tum of a particle, etc.
One of the most important operators is the operator called the Hamiltonian.
The Hamiltonian is defined in such a way so that the eigenvalues correspond
to energy levels of a system. The precise definition, of course, depends upon
the problem in consideration, although it is usually defined as the sum of the
kinetic energy and potential energy operators of the system. The fundamental
postulate of quantum mechanics is that energy is quantized i.e. the set of energy
eigenvalues is countable, and that if a system is stationary (doesn’t change with
2
time) then the state of the system must be an eigenvector of the Hamiltonian.
This is put on a more formal footing below.
3
the wave function changes sign when the particles are interchanged. Particles
for which the former is true are called bosons. Particles for which the latter is
true are called fermions.
Experimental evidence has revealed that all particles are either fermions or
bosons1 2 .
3.6 Examples
So far we have been talking about states and Hamiltonians, slyly avoiding any
actual concrete examples of what they might be. We are now ready to in-
troduce some concrete examples of quantum systems and their corresponding
Hamiltonians.
4 Bra-ket notation
The bra-ket notation is a peculiar notation used by physicists for dealing with
linear operations on spaces that have certain properties. It may be used to
simplify many calculations in quantum physics.
In the following, this notation is given a relatively solid mathematical footing.
We have deviated slightly from the usual physical notation. Specifically, kets
are defined differently. In physics, kets are simply vectors. Here, they are
functionals. If we place certain constraints on V , these two definitions will be
seen to be functionally equivalent. The reason for proceeding like this will be
seen later on.
1 There has also been hypothesized a third kind of particle — so-called anyons — whose
automorphisms are given by Pψ = zψ, where z could be any complex number. These particles
are the basis of topological quantum computing. However, in 3 dimensions such particles have
not been shown to exist.
2 Note that we did not say ‘elementary particles’. In fact, all objects, including macroscopic
objects such as human beings, are either fermions or bosons. However, at larger scales fermions
and bosons become almost indistinguishible due to the fact that many energy states become
available and no two objects will ever really occupy the exact same one. Even molecules are
too large for bosonic or fermionic effects to reveal themselves, except at very low temperatures.
At such low temperatures, it is possible to group large numbers of bosons together into a single
quantum state. Such an object is called a Bose-Einstein condensate.
4
4.1 Bras and kets
Let ψ be a vector in V and define the ket |ψi as:
|ψi :V → F
|ψi :φ 7→ hφ, ψi
(the observant reader will have realized that |ψi is a linear functional).
Similarly, define the bra hφ| as:
hφ| :V → F
hφ| :ψ 7→ hφ, ψi
5
To complete our exposition of the bra-ket notation, we introduce linear op-
erators into the mix. A linear operator on V is, of course, not defined on
functionals of V . However, if the representation theorem applies to V , then we
can make such a definition. Let f be a functional on V and let A be a linear
operator on V . Then define the following operation:
1. A|ψi = |Aψi
2. hφ|A|ψi = hφ|Aψi
3. hφ|I|ψi = hφ|ψi
4.4 Examples
(Finite dimensional, Hilbert spaces, L2 , etc.)
In quantum mechanics, the 3 vector spaces that we use most often are
the finite-dimensional vector space over the complex numbers, the infinitite-
dimensional Hilbert space over the complex numbers, and the vector space of
square-integrable complex functions L2 .
In the space of square-integrable functions on the vector space S defined
over the complex field, with the measure µ, define the inner product:
Z
hφ, ψi = φ(x)ψ(x) dµ(x). (15)
S
In particular, for complex square-integrable functions over the real line, we
have:
Z ∞
hφ, ψi = φ(x)ψ(x) dx. (16)
−∞