Operators and Complete State Descriptions in Quantum Mechanics

black_kitty
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
What for do we need operators in QM. Where is the complete state description of a quantum object?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
You don't *need* operators--for example, Feynman's path integral approach to quantum mechanics only uses regular old numbers (no operators)... Of course, you may not like path integrals any better than operators since they are not really well-defined mathematically.
 
black_kitty said:
What for do we need operators in QM. Where is the complete state description of a quantum object?

P.A.M. Dirac, “The Principles of Quantum Mechanics”, 4-th edition, Oxford, (1958).

The Hilbert spaces are perfectly defined mathematical structures.

Regards, Dany.
 

Thread 'Quantum Entanglement is a Kinematic Fact, not a Dynamical Effect'

Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. Towards the end of the first lecture for the Qiskit Global Summer School 2025, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Olivia Lanes (Global Lead, Content and Education IBM) stated... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/quantum-entanglement-is-a-kinematic-fact-not-a-dynamical-effect/ by @RUTA
View full post »

Thread 'Quantum behaviour of an electron around a positively charged sphere'

If we release an electron around a positively charged sphere, the initial state of electron is a linear combination of Hydrogen-like states. According to quantum mechanics, evolution of time would not change this initial state because the potential is time independent. However, classically we expect the electron to collide with the sphere. So, it seems that the quantum and classics predict different behaviours!
View full post »

Similar threads

I Is the result of an operator acting on a ket vector always a ket？
Replies
16
Views
1K
I Measurements and uncertainty principle
Replies
12
Views
2K
I Confusions I have regarding Measurements in Quantum Mechanics
Replies
11
Views
2K
I Lagrangian Mechanics, Continuous Particle Paths and QFT
Replies
6
Views
1K
I Postulate of only time dependence on |ψ⟩
Replies
2
Views
713
I Why do ##t## and ##-i\hbar\partial_t## not satisfy the definition of a linear map/operator in Hilbert space?
Replies
4
Views
2K
I How to define expectation value in relativistic quantum mechanics?
Replies
2
Views
2K
I Molecular Quantum Computer Progress
Replies
1
Views
1K
I States and observables in quantum mechanics
Replies
5
Views
876
B What does it mean for a glass bead to be in a quantum state?
Replies
17
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top