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World Scientific series in 20th century physics

ON ANGULAR MOMENTUM

Julian Schwinger

Published Jan 26, 1952• 337 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The commutation relations of an arbitrary angular momentum vector can be reduced to those of the harmonic oscillator. This provides a powerful method for constructing and developing the properties of angular momentum eigenvectors. In this paper many known theorems are derived in this way, and some new results obtained. Among the topics treated are the properties of the rotation matrices; the addition of two, three, and four angular momenta; and the theory of tensor operators.

DOI
10.1142/9789812795694_0010

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The commutation relations of an arbitrary angular momentum vector can be reduced to those of the harmonic oscillator. This provides a powerful method for constructing and developing the properties of angular momentum eigenvectors. In this paper many known theorems are derived in this way, and some new results obtained. Among the topics treated are the properties of the rotation matrices; the addition of two, three, and four angular momenta; and the theory of tensor operators.
Angular momentum theory provides a mathematical foundation for the rotation of the eigenvectors of the angular momentum operator, the spherical harmonics functions. A useful property of spherical harmonics is that their rotation in 3D space corresponds to rotation in the virtual space of their azimuthal degrees of freedom. In addition to that, spherical harmonics functions that have different orbital indices do not mix. Given that spherical harmonics functions have known rotation properties, and that any arbitrary function can be expanded in a series of spherical harmonics, this property allows the rotation of an electrostatic potential when it is expanded in the series of spherical harmonics. In this chapter, the exponential form of the rotation operator, the rotation matrix for a 3D rotation of the coordinate system, and the principles of rotation of vectors and functions are described. The chapter provides a detailed self-contained introduction to the theory of angular momentum, derives the commutative properties of the angular momentum operator, and explains shift operators, while minimizing references to quantum mechanics and entirely avoiding group theory.
Elementary treatments of a single angular momentum having components Jk (k =1, 2, 3) usually go as far as discussions of the spectra of these operators and the derivations of their standard, i.e., J2, J3-diagonal, representatives. On the other hand, the standard representatives of their eigenvectors are not usually obtained, leaving J3 aside, for which the problem is trivial. In fact, this part of the theory is most often dealt with only after a lengthy excursion into the theory of matrix representations. The representatives in question are obtained, in the first part of this paper, by means of essentially elementary arguments. Once these representatives are known, the standard representative of the unitary operator U which generates the state vector of a system after it has undergone a rotation R from the state vector prior to the rotation are deduced; this representative comprises just the familiar matrix representations of the rotation group. Finally, the relevance of harmonic oscillator theory to the present problem is briefly considered.
The addition theorem for spherical harmonics is just a special case of the law for the transformation of spherical harmonics under rotation of their arguments. Certain operators are scalars under rotation; this means that they commute with the total angular momentum and are unchanged by the transformation. The types of operators having simple transformation properties under rotation are known generally as tensor operators. The energy eigenstates of an atom, taking into account the spin-orbit interaction, are not usually eigenstates of the z component of the total orbital angular momentum, but are eigenstates of the total angular momentum, spin plus orbital. Sehwinger has looked at the theory of angular momentum from a point of view that enables one to carry out very elegant calculations of the various quantities occurring in the theory of angular momentum. The quanta of some different oscillators are simply the quarks that compose the strongly interacting particles.
Abstract In this chapter we introduce the concept of orbital angular momentum into the mathematical language of quantum mechanics. We discuss the commutation relations of the corresponding operators and their roles as generators of rotations in the context of the theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras, focusing on the three-dimensional rotation group SO(3). We further examine how scalar and vector-valued operators transform under spatial rotations. We then turn to the derivation of the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the angular-momentum operators, for which we follow a dual approach in analogy to that employed for the harmonic oscillator in Chapter 5. Using both the algebraic ladder-operator method and an analytical method using spherical polar coordinates we discover the relevant azimuthal and magnetic quantum numbers and their relation to the spherical harmonics and the Legendre polynomials
The theory of angular momentum performance a significant position in the classical and quantum mechanical study of physical properties, such as studies into nuclear, atomic, and molecular processes, as well as other quantum problems, including spherical symmetry. In this analysis, angular momentum operators are described in multiple ways, based on the angular momentum operator's commutator, matrix, and geometric representation, The eigenvalue and eigenvector were also known for operatorsJ ̂_±,J ⃑ ̂^2, J ̂_x,J ̂_y and J ̂_zwithin the |j,┤ ├ m⟩ basis. Furthermore, in quantum mechanics, angular momentum is called quantized variable, meaning that it comes in discrete quantities. In contrast to the macroscopic system case where a continuous variable is angular momentum.