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Why scalar operators commute with L

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Aryan Anand Palimkar ep21b007
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3 views

Why scalar operators commute with L

Uploaded by

Aryan Anand Palimkar ep21b007
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Scalar and Vector Operators

It is familiar in classical physics, that if we perform a rigid rotation of a system, that cer-
tain quantities remain unchanged whereas others do change in a regular way. Quantities
which remain unchanged under a rotation are called (rotational) scalars. An example
is the kinetic energy of a particle. If we rotate the “system” by rotating the velocity
vector, the kinetic energy does not change. On the other hand, the components of the
velocity certainly do change. (NOTE In all of our discussion of rotations, we will take
the so-called “active” viewpoint, where the rotation is applied to the object of interest,
and the coordinate system is held fixed.) If we use a ′ symbol to denote the rotated
object, and no ′ to denote the original, then for a scalar quantity, we have
S ′ = S. (1)
For a vector quantity, let us consider how the components transform if the system is
rotated (counter-clockwise) around the 3-axis by an angle α. By drawing a few pictures,
it is easy to see that the correct transformation properties for the components of a vector
V⃗ are given by
V1′ = cos αV1 − sin αV2 (2)
V2′ = cos αV2 + sin αV1
V3′ = V3
Now let us turn to quantum mechanics and require that expected values of scalar and
vector operators transform as in Eqs.(1) and (2). In the active viewpoint, we consider
that transformed state |Ψ′ >, which is related to the original state by the unitary trans-
formation representing (in the present case) the rotation. For simplicity, we will continue
to take our rotation to be one of angle α around the 3-axis. So for a scalar, we have
< S >′ ≡< Ψ′ |S|Ψ′ >=< Ψ|S|Ψ >≡< S > .
From transformation theory, the relation between |Ψ′ > and |Ψ > is
iL3 α
|Ψ′ >= exp(− )|Ψ >
h̄
Using our equation, we have
iL3 α iL3 α
< Ψ′ |S|Ψ′ >=< Ψ| exp( )S exp(− )|Ψ >=< Ψ|S|Ψ >,
h̄ h̄
or stripping off the states,
iL3 α iL3 α
exp( )S exp(− ) = S.
h̄ h̄
Now, if we differentiate, we get
iL3 α iL3 α iL3 α iL3 α
ih̄∂α exp( )S exp(− ) = exp( )[S, L3 ] exp(− ) = 0,
h̄ h̄ h̄ h̄
since the right hand side of the equation is independent of α. The result is

[S, L3 ] = 0.

Using other axes of rotation, we will clearly get

[S, Lk ] = 0, k = 1, 2, 3.

The conclusion is that an operator representing a rotational scalar must commute with
all components of the angular momentum.
⃗ Again taking the rotation to
For a vector operator, let us take the components of X.
be one of angle α around the 3 axis, from Eqs.(2), we have
iL3 α iL3 α
< Ψ| exp( )X1 exp(− )|Ψ > = cos α < Ψ|X1 |Ψ > − sin α < Ψ|X2 |Ψ > (3)
h̄ h̄
iL3 α iL3 α
< Ψ| exp( )X2 exp(− )|Ψ > = cos α < Ψ|X2 |Ψ > + sin α < Ψ|X1 |Ψ >
h̄ h̄
iL3 α iL3 α
< Ψ| exp( )X3 exp(− )|Ψ > = < Ψ|X3 |Ψ >
h̄ h̄
As in the case of the scalar operator, these equations must hold for an arbitrary state.
This is guaranteed if we demand that they hold for the operators themselves. Writing
out the first of Eqs.(3), we have
iL3 α iL3 α
exp( )X1 exp(− ) = cos αX1 − sin αX2
h̄ h̄
Differentiating both sides with respect to α, we obtain
iL3 α iL3 α
exp( )[X1 , L3 ] exp(− ) = −ih̄(sin αX1 + cos αX2 ).
h̄ h̄
This equation holds for all α. If we set α = 0 we obtain

[L3 , X1 ] = ih̄X2 .

Using other axes of rotation and considering an arbitrary three-vector operator V⃗ , we


can derive
[Lj , Vk ] = ih̄ϵjkn Vn . (4)
So turning the argument around, we can define a three-vector operator as one whose
components satisfy Eq.(4). If we have a single particle, then the list of vector operators
⃗ P⃗ , L.
is X, ⃗
To summarize, demanding that quantities transform under rotations in the same way
as they do in classical physics leads to a definite form for the commutation relations
between the operators representing these quantities and the angular momentum of the
system. The discussion was carried out for a single particle, but applies to a arbitrarily
complicated quantum system.

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