Commutation of Angular and Linear Momentum

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atomicpedals
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If I have a relation such as [tex][L_{j} , \vec{p}^2]=0[/tex] where j=x,y,z.

Can I re-write it as [tex][L_{j}, \vec{p} \vec{p}]=0[/tex] and then evaluate it as though it were an identity? e.g. [tex][A,BC]=[A,B]C+[B,A]C=...[/tex]
 
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atomicpedals said:
If I have a relation such as [tex][L_{j} , \vec{p}^2]=0[/tex] where j=x,y,z.

Can I re-write it as [tex][L_{j}, \vec{p} \vec{p}]=0[/tex] and then evaluate it as though it were an identity? e.g. [tex][A,BC]=[A,B]C+[B,A]C=...[/tex]

If unsure, you are better off explicitly writing out the dot product:
[itex][ L_j, \vec{p}^2] = [L_j, \sum_{k} p_k^2] = \sum_{k} [L_j, p_k^2][/itex]

Now you can apply the ABC rule. The one you quote is wrong, by the way. It should be:
[itex][A, BC] = B[A,C] + [A,B]C[/itex]
 
Thanks for the help!