- #1
Lavabug
- 866
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Homework Statement
For the following operator represented in the orthonormal basis {|1>, |2>}
[tex]\hat{M} =
\begin{pmatrix}
2 & i\sqrt{2} \\
-i\sqrt{2 & 2}
\end{pmatrix}
[/tex]
find the eigenvalues and eigenvectors and express them as a function of |1> and |2> normalized.
The Attempt at a Solution
I'm trying to apply what I learned way back in linear algebra. When I solve for the eigenvector coefficients, I end up with a system of 2 variables and 1 equation (alternatively 2 variables and a rank 1 matrix), which gives me (2 - 1) free parameters to set arbitrarily. However back in algebra I used to just pick a variable "gamma" or whatever and leave my eigenvector in terms of it. Now I'm supposed to fix an actual number to it? For what reason and how should I pick my free parameters?