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QM 3 Assignment

1. This document provides questions related to quantum mechanics topics including: - Identical boson systems and possible spin states - Properties of neutron stars such as radius and Fermi energy - Scattering theory using partial waves and phase shifts - Scattering amplitudes and cross sections for central potentials - Simultaneous diagonalization of momentum, Hamiltonian, and spin operators for Dirac particles 2. Questions involve calculating properties of neutron stars, deriving expressions for scattering amplitudes and cross sections, and showing that certain commutators vanish for Dirac particles. 3. Topics range from systems of identical particles to relativistic quantum mechanics and include scattering theory and properties of the Dirac equation.

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Chashan Deep
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64 views

QM 3 Assignment

1. This document provides questions related to quantum mechanics topics including: - Identical boson systems and possible spin states - Properties of neutron stars such as radius and Fermi energy - Scattering theory using partial waves and phase shifts - Scattering amplitudes and cross sections for central potentials - Simultaneous diagonalization of momentum, Hamiltonian, and spin operators for Dirac particles 2. Questions involve calculating properties of neutron stars, deriving expressions for scattering amplitudes and cross sections, and showing that certain commutators vanish for Dirac particles. 3. Topics range from systems of identical particles to relativistic quantum mechanics and include scattering theory and properties of the Dirac equation.

Uploaded by

Chashan Deep
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PH5170, Quantum Mechanics II, January–May 2020

Assignment in lieu of Quiz III


From systems of identical particles to relativistic quantum mechanics
1. Possible configurations of identical bosons: Three identical bosons with spin s = 1 are in the same
orbital states described by the wavefunction ψ(r).

(a) Write down the normalized spin functions for the total system.
(b) How many independent states are possible?
(c) What are the possible values of the total spin of the system?

2. Neutron stars: Stars that are heavier than the Chandrasekhar limit will not form white dwarfs,
but they will collapse further, finally becoming neutron stars under certain conditions. This is due
to the fact that, at very high density, inverse beta decay, i.e. e + p → n + ν, converts virtually
all of the protons and electrons into neutrons, liberating neutrinos in the process, which carry off
energy. Eventually, the degeneracy pressure of non-relativistic neutrons stabilizes the collapse, just
as electron degeneracy does for the white dwarfs.

(a) Calculate the radius of a neutron star with the mass of the sun.
(b) Also calculate the neutron Fermi energy, and compare it with the rest energy of a neutron. Is
it reasonable to treat such a star non-relativistically?

3. Partial waves and phase shifts: Recall that, using the method of partial waves, we had obtained
the scattering amplitude to be
∞
�
f (θ) = (2 l + 1) al Pl (cos θ),
l=0

where Pl (x) denotes the Legendre polynomials and al was called the l-th partial wave amplitude.

(a) Using the above result, arrive at the corresponding expression for the differential cross-section
and show that total cross-section can be written as
∞
�
σ= (2 l + 1) |al |2 .
l=0

(b) Focusing on a particular l, show that the partial wave amplitude al can be expressed in terms
of the phase shift δl as follows:
1
al = ei δl sin (δl ).
k
(c) Use this form of al to arrive an expression for the total cross-section in terms of the phase
shifts δl .

4. Scattering amplitude and cross-section in the Born approximation: Using the Born approximation,
find the scattering amplitude as well as the total scattering cross-section of a particle in the following
two central potentials: V (r) = α e−µ r and V (r) = α/r2 .

5. Simultaneous diaganolization of p̂, Ĥ and Σ̂ describing a Dirac particle: Recall that the Hamilto-
nian Ĥ of a Dirac particle is given by

Ĥ = α · p̂ + β m c2 ,

where p̂ is the momentum operator. The quantities αi with i = (1, 2, 3) and β are the Dirac matrices
defined as
� � � �
0 σi I 0
αi = , β= ,
σi 0 0 −I

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PH5170, Quantum Mechanics II, January–May 2020

where σi and I are the 2 × 2 Pauli matrices and the unit matrix given by
� � � � � � � �
0 1 0 −i 1 0 1 0
σ1 = , σ2 = , σ3 = , I= .
1 0 i 0 0 −1 0 1

Also, note that the spin operator describing the Dirac particles can be expressed in terms of the
Pauli matrices σ as follows:
�
Ŝ = Σ,
2
where � �
σ 0
Σ= .
0 σ

Show that the commutators [p̂, Ĥ], [p̂, p̂ · Σ̂] and [Ĥ, p̂ · Σ̂] vanish.

Page 2

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