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Bra-ket notation
(Read pgs. 109-144) The Dirac Bra-Ket notation is a concise and convenient way to describe quantum states. We introduce and
define the symbol
(1.24)
to represent a quantum state. This is called a ket, or a ket vector. It is an abstract entity, and serves to describe the "state" of the
quantum system. We say that a physical system is in quantum state , where represents some physical quantity, such as
momentum, spin etc, when represented by the ket
.
If we have two distinct quantum states
and
. This is not a ket, and does not belong in ket space e.g.
, there exists a bra labeled
. The bra
is said to be
that vector?
The answer is,
(1.26)
where
Dirac allowed the the bra's and ket's to line up back to back, i.e.
(1.27)
The symbol
represents a complex number that is equal to the value of the inner product of the ket
with
. We note,
An outer product is allowed to stand next to a ket on its left, or next to a bra on the bra's right. Lets define
, then if
It looks like we have something like an inner product on the r.h.s of this equation. Indeed, according to the associative axiom of
multiplication, we are allowed to put parenthesis around the quantity
and equate it to the value of the inner product
. Or
(1.31)
. Be careful! for
does.
(1.32)
, is
is
(1.33)
where
is called the hermitian conjugate of operator A. Show that the hermitian conjugate of
Sometimes
is
, then A is called an hermitian operator. Hermitian operators play a central role in quantum theory. Show that
, where is a real number, is hermitian. Consider a hermitian operator X, whose eigenstates | a> obey the
eigenvalue equation
(1.34)
by
(1.36)
Projection operators
Matrix representation of operators
Unitary operators
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