phy-4600/solutions/chap7/lectureprob
2016-03-24 01:04:06 -04:00

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This problem associated with chapter 7 was assigned during lecture.
Does L̂𝓏 commute with 𝐫̂²?
[L̂𝓏,𝐫̂²] = L̂𝓏 𝐫̂² - 𝐫̂² L̂𝓏.
𝓏 𝐫̂² - 𝐫̂² L̂𝓏.
Using the position representations, in spherical coordinates,
𝓏 ≐ -ιħ∂/∂θ and 𝐫̂² ≐ 𝐫²,
𝓏 𝐫̂² - 𝐫̂² L̂𝓏 = 𝐫² ιħ∂/∂θ - ιħ∂/∂θ 𝐫².
𝐫² has no θ dependence, so it can be separated from any quantity differentiated with respect to theta, I.E.,
∂/∂θ 𝐫² = 𝐫² ∂/∂θ.
𝐫² ιħ∂/∂θ - ιħ∂/∂θ 𝐫² = 𝐫² ιħ∂/∂θ - 𝐫² ιħ∂/∂θ = 0 = [L̂𝓏,𝐫̂²] = 0.
[L̂𝓏,𝐫̂²] = 0, so these quantities commute.