# Quantum Definition and 403 Discussions

In physics, a quantum (plural quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude of the physical property can take on only discrete values consisting of integer multiples of one quantum.
For example, a photon is a single quantum of light (or of any other form of electromagnetic radiation). Similarly, the energy of an electron bound within an atom is quantized and can exist only in certain discrete values. (Atoms and matter in general are stable because electrons can exist only at discrete energy levels within an atom.) Quantization is one of the foundations of the much broader physics of quantum mechanics. Quantization of energy and its influence on how energy and matter interact (quantum electrodynamics) is part of the fundamental framework for understanding and describing nature.

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1. ### I Entanglement and FTL signaling in professional scientific literature

According to professional scientific literature and to our best understanding, are there any suggestions that entanglement might imply some sort of faster than light signaling between the entangled particles? I know that according to relativity nothing can travel faster than light, but what...
2. ### A Why do we need a quantum correction for black hole entropy?

Hey to all,.... It is now generally believed that information is preserved in black-hole evaporation. This means that the predictions of quantum mechanics are correct whereas Hawking's original argument that relied on general relativity must be corrected. However, views differ as to how...
3. ### I Why does doping make resonating valence bonds (singlet pairs) mobile?

I know in RVB theory that neighbouring Copper atoms form singlet pairs via the superexchange "force". Upon doping with holes, these neutral singlet RVB pairs become mobile and charged and are able to superconduct. I know that the resonating valence bonds are in the copper 3d(x^2-y^2) orbital and...
4. ### I Blender Particle Photon Simulation (interesting results w soft bodies)

(0:00 / 0:42) photon going light-speed blender simulation I have no idea how a mathematician would translate this example into an equation. Every time I've worked with soft bodies I seem to run short of mathematicians buddies. Regardless of the mathematics of continuous object deformation, this...
5. ### B Wave function won't collapse under a microscope?

So what am I doing wrong here? I can clearly observe it, I'm nearly sure I can tell which particles are going throw each slit if I used another laser too. My suspicion is that the electrical current of the photon detector that uses germanium or silicon to detect the particles are influencing the...
6. ### I Conventional description of the matter wave

I have been working on a relatively simple problem. Just take a quantum wave function for which a physical requirement is that an arbitrary displacement of x or an arbitrary shift of t should not alter the character of the wave, and I want to find the state function solution. A possible guess...
7. ### I What is the physical meaning of concurence (quantum information)?

Hello, I am currently studying about entanglement on spin-1/2 chains and I was able to find some information about the mathematical point of view of concurrence but I can't understand the physical meaning of it . Can somebody help me, please?
8. ### Finding all possible energy states faster without using a calculator

I tried to find states in direct method using ##\frac{E}{E_0}=\:nx^2+ny^2+nz^2## and ##100\:<nx^2+ny^2+nz^2\:<\:136## But it was too long, found it using phi approximation there are around 300 energy states, and Python find around 271 states using direct method but I need manual or recursive...
9. ### Quantum Introductory quantum mechanics textbook for self-study

Hi! I want to self study some of quantum mechanics so i need introductory textbook. I've taken courses on linear algebra that covers all "Linear algebra done right" by Sheldon Axler, multivariable calculus, two courses on general physics and the basics of differentials equations. I really like...
10. ### A Measurement In QFT

How do we map experimental measurements of quantum fields, such as those seen in accelerators, to the theory's mathematical formalism? When we see images of particle tracks produced in accelerators such as the LHC, I think it's safe to say a measurement (or series of measurements) has been...
11. ### Perturbation theory

Of course, this question consisted of two parts. In the first part, we needed to calculate the first-order correction. It was easy. In all the books on quantum mechanics I saw, only first-order examples have been solved. So I really do not know how to solve it. Please explain the solution method...
12. ### I Gauge in the Aharonov Bohm effect

In p.385 of Griffiths QM the vector potential ##\textbf{A} = \frac{\Phi}{2\pi r}\hat{\phi}## is chosen for the region outside a long solenoid. However, couldn't we also have chosen a vector potential that is a multiple of this, namely ##\textbf{A} = \alpha \frac{\Phi}{2\pi r} \hat{\phi}## where...
13. ### Is quantum computing the key to achieving an AGI?

Is advanced quantum computing the key to achieving the world's first true artificial general intelligence? The astronomical amount of computing power required for an AGI is currently not possible with classical computing.
14. ### I What does it really mean that photons are quanta of light?

But then I learned a photon can be split into two or even three photons (red-shifted, energy is conserved), and also photon can lose energy and still be a photon (Raman effect, inelastic scattering). Now, I am not sure what it means when it is said photons are quanta of light (smallest unit of...
15. ### I A single photon and mirror

If the answer is Yes, then I would ask, if the mirror absorbs a portion of the energy of the photon, so the photon should simply stop existing because we cannot have a smaller package of light than a photon. If the answer is No, then I would ask why a beam of light (which is made of a big...
16. ### I Is this system a superposition?

Suppose a blind man builds a machine that paints three apples with three colors, either red, blue or green. Once the machine has done this, are the three apples in the following superposition: or is the wavefunction just one of It feels like because the man is blind, the apples should be in...
17. ### I What part of physics describes what happens just outside of an electron?

Coulomb's law for three dimensional space is an empirical law that describes the forces between two stationary point charges and is defined as: \vec{F}=\frac{K q_1 q_2 (\vec{r}_1-\vec{r}_2)}{|\vec{r}_1-\vec{r}_2|^3} From Coulomb's law, the magnitude and direction of an electric field produced by...
18. ### B Does the Higgs Boson really have 0 spin?

Does the Higgs Boson really have 0 spin or is the spin between 0 and 1/2 x (1.054 571 817... x 10-34 J s)?
19. ### A Green's function for tunneling electrons between quantum dots

Good afternoon! I am writing with such a problem, I hope to find someone who could help me. I'm almost desperate! So, there is such a thing as the Braess paradox, this is a classic paradox for roads and power grids, and there is also such an article...
20. ### I How to work in the |F,m_F> states in hyperfine structure

Suppose that we have two atoms with one proton one electron each, and these electrons interact with each other. The states for the electrons are the singlet(S=0) and the triplet states(S=1). My question is if i have to keep the nuclear spin of the protons parallel when i write the states, for...
21. ### A Eigenvalues of Hyperfine Hamiltonian

I was reading a paper on Radical-Pair mechanism (2 atoms with 1 valence electron each) and the author used the hyperfine hamiltonian $$H_{B}=-B(s_{D_z}+s_{A_z})+As_{D_x}I_x+As_{D_y}I_y+as_{D_z}I_z$$ and found the following eigenvalues: a/4 (doubly degenerate) , a/4±B , (-a-2B±2√(A^2+B^2)) ...
22. ### I Solving Schrödinger's equation for a hydrogen atom with Euler's method

Hi, first-time poster here I'm a student at HS-level in DK, who has decided to write my annual large scale assignment on Schrödinger's equation. My teacher has only given us a brief introduction to the equation and has tasked us to solve it numerically with Euler's method for the hydrogen atom...
23. ### A Entanglement Witnesses close to GHZ states

Consider page 2 of Toth's paper Entanglement detection in the stabilizer formalism (2005) . To detect entanglement close to GHZ states, they construct entanglement witnesses of the form $$\mathcal{W} := c_0 I - \tilde{S}_{k}^{(GHZ_N)} - \tilde{S}_{l}^{(GHZ_N)},$$ where...
24. ### Help with the matrix representation of <-|+|->. Does "+"=|+>?

Trying to use <+|+>=1=<-|-> and <-|+>=0 to prove each iteration of the equation, so I have 6 different versions to prove. But the part I'm currently stuck on is understanding how to simplify any given version. I've written out [S_x,S_y]=S_xS_y\psi-S_yS_x\psi and expanded it in terms of the...
25. ### A Everettian FAPP solipsism

Travis Norsen in his paper Quantum Solipsism and Non-Locality seems to believe that Everettian QM implies some sort of solipsism. He falls it FAPP (for all present purposes) solipsism. (I must say that as a geologist this goes over my head a bit!) However I have recently read Sean Carrolls...
26. ### I Consistent Histories Interpretation - History

I have just finished reading the book 'Three Roads to Quantum Gravity' by Lee Smolin. My question interestingly is associated with my geology background. Lee Smolin notes Fay Dowker concludes that if Consistent Histories is true then we cannot deduce the existence of dinosaurs 100 million...

37. ### I Clebsch–Gordan coefficients: An Identity

Hi, everyone. I'm trying to get the next identity It is in the format <j1, j2; m1, m2 |j, m>. I hope you can help me
38. ### Bohr-Sommerfeld, WKB, and current-biased Josephson junction

I've already found the turning points, in the case of the left turning point, the local minimum of the potential, ##\delta_{min}=1.11977## when evaluating for an arbitrary value of current ##J=0.9I_C##. The left turning point is therefore ##\delta_r=2.48243##. I know the Bohr-Sommerfeld...
39. ### Finding energy eigenvalues with perturbation

I know the basis I should use is |m_1,m_2> and that each m can be 1,0,-1 but how do I get the eigenvalues from this?
40. ### S-wave phase shift for quantum mechanical scattering

a.) The potential is a delta function, so ##V \left( r \right) = \frac {\hbar^2} {2\mu} \gamma \delta \left(r-a \right)##, therefore ##V \left( r \right) = \frac {\hbar^2} {2\mu} \gamma ## at ##r=a##, and ##V \left( r \right) = 0## otherwise. I've tried a few different approaches: 1.) In...
41. ### Computing the wave function of a square potential

The book's procedure for the "shooting method" The point of this program is to compute a wave function and to try and home in on the ground eigenvalue energy, which i should expect pi^2 / 8 = 1.2337.... This is my program (written in python) import matplotlib.pyplot as plt import numpy as...
42. ### Qubit Operations

Part a: Gate H X Y Z S T R_x R_y Theta pi pi pi pi pi/2 pi/4 pi/2 pi/2 n_alpha (1/sqrt(2))*(1,0,1) (1,0,0) (0,1,0) (0,0,1) (0,0,1) (0,0,1) (1,0,0) (0,1,0) Using the info from the table and equation 1, I find: U_H=(i/sqrt(2))*[1,1;1,-1] U_X=i*[0,1;1,0] U_Y=i*[0,-i;i,0] U_Z=i*[1,0;0,-1]...
43. ### Perturbation treatment of hydrogen molecular ion

hi guys i am a the third year undergrad student and in this 2nd semester in my collage we should start taking quantum mechanics along with molecular physics , our molecular physics professor choose a book that we are going to take which is " molecular physics by wolfgang Demtroder " when i...
44. ### Plotting the radial wave function of Deuteron in a finite well

To plot ##u(r)## we need to find the solutions for each region. Which is in the relevant equations part. Now, I have to do this numerically. Using python 3.7 I made an ##u## which is filled with zeros and a for loop with if/elseif statement, basically telling it to plot values for whenever...
45. ### I What exactly is a measurement device and how does it work?

What exactly is a measurement device and how does it carry out a measurement? For instance, in the double slit experiment, you always hear about particle/wave duality. When it's not being measured it behaves like a wave but when a measuring device is placed by the slits, it behaves like a...
46. ### Five State Quantum System, understanding the question

I’ve never worked with a quantum system with more that two states 1, -1, and I’ve just gotten this homework problem. I'm not sure what it means. Does this mean it has five states? Why are there two 0’s and two 1’s?
47. ### Quantum Video lecture suggestion for Sakurai quantum mechanics Textbook

hello! I've been trying to read through Sakurai's Modern quantum mechanics textbook ( My goal is to finish the first 3 chapters and understand the Dirac formulation of QM specifically) but I find myself stumbling at many places. Are there any video lectures on the internet that follows this text...
48. ### I Using the Variational Method to get higher sates

In a typical quantum course we learn how to approximate the ground state of a particular Hamiltonian by making an educated guess at an ansatz with a tunable parameter then calculating the expectation energy for the ansatz. The result will depend on the tunable parameter if done correctly. Then...
49. ### A Expectation Value of a Stabilizer

Given that operator ##S_M##, which consists entirely of ##Y## and ##Z## Pauli operators, is a stabilizer of some graph state ##G## i.e. the eigenvalue equation is given as ##S_MG = G## (eigenvalue ##1##). In the paper 'Graph States as a Resource for Quantum Metrology' (page 3) it states that...
50. ### I Why can't there be a Universal Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics?

Why can't there be a Universal Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics? If you unite Copenhagen and Many Worlds than all other interpretations will fall under the umbrella of a Universal Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. The main problem with interpretations seems to be the role of the observer...