PH3102 Quantum Mechanics Assignment 8

Instructor: Dr. Siddhartha Lal Autumn Semester, 2024

Start Date: October 22, 2024 Submission Deadline: October 29, 2024 .
Submit your answers to the Tutor at the start of the tutorial.

Q1. A system of two interacting spins [14 marks]

Consider two quantum spins S ⃗1 and S⃗2 interacting with each other through a Heisenberg-like interaction. The
dimensionless Hamiltonian is given by
H = JS⃗1 · S
⃗2 ,

where the strength of the interaction is given by the so-called interaction coupling J > 0.
(i.) Argue that this Hamiltonian has four eigenstates.

⃗tot = S
(ii.) In order to find these eigenstates, express the Hamiltonian purely in terms of the total spin S ⃗1 + S
⃗2 , S
⃗1
⃗
and S2 .

(iii.) What are the operators that commute with this Hamiltonian? Use this observation, together with any impor-
tant spin-commutation relations, to write down all the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian as well as their energies.

(iv.) Now focus on the ground state, which is often referred to as a singlet state (why is that?). This state is special
because it has spin rotation or SU(2) symmetry, which means that the state is invariant under rotation of the
electron’s spin. To see this, calculate the total magnetisation of the state in an arbitrary direction n̂ = (nx , ny , nz ).
⃗tot . Show that the total magnetisation (which is the expectation
The operator for this is defined as Stot (n̂) = n̂ · S
value of Stot (n̂)) in the singlet state is the same irrespective of the direction vector n̂. This shows that the singlet
state remains unchanged when we rotate our frame of reference.

(v.) Contrast this with the three excited states in the spectrum. How similar or different are they from the
singlet state, in terms of SU(2) symmetry? Answer this by computing the total magnetisation along an arbitrary
direction n̂ in these states as well. Which of these states would describe a “classical” ferromagnet? What class of
magnetism would the singlet describe?

Q2. Broken symmetry and a quantum “phase” transition in a toy

model [13 marks]
You have already solved above the model of two spin-1/2 moments interacting with each other through an anti-
ferromagnetic Heisenberg coupling. Now, by addning a magnetic field that acts on both the spins, we obtain the
Hamiltonian
H = JS⃗1 · S
⃗2 + B (S1z + S2z ) , J > 0 .
(i.) This Hamiltonian can again be solved by obtaining the operators that commute with the Hamiltonian. Write
down the four eigenstates and their eigenvalues. Plot all of the eigenvalues on the same figure as a function of the
magnetic field (consider only B > 0).

(ii.) Can you identify the critical value of the magnetic field at which the ground state undergoes a level-crossing of
the ground state? What are the ground states on either side of this level-crossing “transition”? The term broken
symmetry in the title of the question refers to the fact that during the level crossing, the ground state undergoes a
change in one of its symmetries. Which symmetry is that?

(iii.) From your list of eigenstates and eigenvalues, can you guess what happens if you take J to be negative (i.e.,
ferromagnetic)? What is (are) the ground state(s) in this case? Is there a transition obtained in this case upon
tuning the magnetic field?

1
Q3. A gentle introduction to entanglement: the singlet state [13 marks]
Here, we consider a remarkable property of the singlet state obtained as the ground state of a two spin-1/2 anti-
ferromagnetic Heisenberg model: |χ⟩ = √12 (|↑, ↓⟩ − |↓, ↑⟩), where the notation |↑, ↓⟩ means that the first spin is in
its up configuration while the second spin is in its down configuration. Entanglement is defined as the property
of a quantum state where the state of a given component depends on the state of another component. Within
the singlet state, it can be seen in the fact that measuring one of the spins makes the other spin collapse into the
opposite state. In order to make this more concrete, we will calculate the entanglement entropy (EE) of the first spin.

(i.) For this, we must first calculate the density matrix ρ of the state: ρ = |χ⟩ ⟨χ|. The density matrix describes the
probabilities of finding a system in various configurations. [To learn more about density matrices, consult Statistical
Mechanics by R. K. Pathria, Landau & Lifshitz Statistical Mechanics or Feynman’s lectures of Statistical Mechanics.]

(ii.) The next step is to calculate the reduced density matrix ρ1 for the first spin. This is obtained by taking the
density matrix and then tracing over the states of the second spin:

ρ1 = Tr2 [ρ] = ⟨↑2 |ρ| ↑2 | + ⟨↓2 |ρ| ↓2 | .

(iii.) Following von Neumann, the entanglement entropy (EE) of the first spin is defined as minus of the trace
of ρ1 ln ρ1 . This can be calculated
P easily by obtaining the eigenvalues {λi } of the matrix ρ1 , and then using the
formula −Tr [ρ1 ln ρ1 ] = − i λi ln λi . The maximum possible EE of a two-component is ln 2. What does this tell
you about the singlet state?

(iv.) Intuitively, it is clear that the direct product state |↑, ↓⟩ has no entanglement, because measuring one of the
spins does not change our knowledge about the other spin. We will now demonstrate this quantitatively. In order
to compute the EE of this state and compare it with the singlet, generalise your previous calculation to obtain the
EE of the first spin within the state |χ(θ)⟩ = cos θ |↑, ↓⟩ + sin θ |↓, ↑⟩. At what value of θ is the EE maximum and
when is it minimum? What states do these correspond to?