moobox
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Hey,
I just have a quick question that I haven't quite been able to find a definitive answer to, regarding conjugate momenta in the Hamiltonian.
Ok, so it regards the following term for the hamiltonian in a magnetic field:
H=\frac{1}{2m}(p-qA)^2
I'd like to ask whether p is the conjugate momentum or if p_c=p-qA is the conjugate momentum. As a guess, I would say that p_c=p-qA is the conjugate momentum, as it seems to me that the hamiltonian should take into account the magnetic field. Would this then mean that the hamiltonian could be written as H=\frac{1}{2m}(p_c)^2
Also, very important, does -i\hbar\nabla represent the canonical momentum operator or the classical/mechanical momentum operatpor?
Im sure the answers are around somewhere on the internet, but it strikes me that there are some conflicting statements and a tendency to just go "oh yeah, now we swap the canonical momentum, p for mechanical momentum p" and the like, so it would be nice to get a definitive answer.
Thanks for your help!
I just have a quick question that I haven't quite been able to find a definitive answer to, regarding conjugate momenta in the Hamiltonian.
Ok, so it regards the following term for the hamiltonian in a magnetic field:
H=\frac{1}{2m}(p-qA)^2
I'd like to ask whether p is the conjugate momentum or if p_c=p-qA is the conjugate momentum. As a guess, I would say that p_c=p-qA is the conjugate momentum, as it seems to me that the hamiltonian should take into account the magnetic field. Would this then mean that the hamiltonian could be written as H=\frac{1}{2m}(p_c)^2
Also, very important, does -i\hbar\nabla represent the canonical momentum operator or the classical/mechanical momentum operatpor?
Im sure the answers are around somewhere on the internet, but it strikes me that there are some conflicting statements and a tendency to just go "oh yeah, now we swap the canonical momentum, p for mechanical momentum p" and the like, so it would be nice to get a definitive answer.
Thanks for your help!