Physics · Glossary

What is Angular momentum operators?

Definition 10.1 University Physics — Year 3 · Chapter 10 — Quantum Angular Momentum

Orbital angular momentum is the operator L^=r^p^\hat{\vect L} = \hat{\vect r}\wedge\hat{\vect p}, componentwise L^z=x^p^yy^p^x\hat L_z = \hat x\hat p_y - \hat y\hat p_x and cyclic. From [x^,p^x]=i[\hat x, \hat p_x] = \iu\hbar:

[L^x,L^y]=iL^z(and cyclic),[L^2,L^z]=0:[\hat L_x, \hat L_y] = \iu\hbar\,\hat L_z \quad\text{(and cyclic)} , \qquad [\hat L^2, \hat L_z] = 0 :

the components are mutually incompatible — no state has two of them sharp — but the total square is compatible with any one of them: the pair (L^2,L^z)(\hat L^2, \hat L_z) is the standard choice of labels. These commutators are exactly i\iu\hbar times the Poisson brackets computed in Example 2.12: Dirac’s dictionary at work.

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