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From Matrix Mechanics to Quantum Circuits: Computational Reproduction of Two Spin- 1 2 Angular-Momentum Coupling Using MATLAB and PennyLane

Sayed Mohammad Badiezadegan

Published Jul 13, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The coupling of two spin-1/2 systems is a canonical example of composite-state construction, angular-momentum addition, exchange symmetry, and quantum entanglement. This article develops a reproducible computational treatment of the problem using two complementary frameworks. MATLAB is used to implement the conventional matrix-mechanics description through vectors, Kronecker products, Hermitian operators, eigendecomposition, density matrices, and partial traces. PennyLane is used to implement the same states using quantum gates, QNodes, state-vector simulation, observable expectation values, finite-shot sampling, and reduced-density-matrix measurements. The singlet and triplet sectors are derived analytically and verified numerically to be eigenstates of the total-spin operators S^2 and Sz. Fidelity is used to compare the state vectors of MATLAB and PennyLane while accounting for the physically irrelevant global phase. Single-particle Bloch vectors and reduced density matrices are employed to show that the entangled states have maximally mixed local states, so their individual Bloch vectors vanish even though the global two-qubit states are pure. A basis-change circuit is further introduced to distinguish the relative phase of the singlet and m = 0 triplet states, which cannot be resolved by computational-basis populations alone. The study provides a bridge between textbook angular-momentum theory, classical scientific computing, and modern gate-based quantum programming.

DOI
10.6084/m9.figshare.32978282

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In this work we present a pedagogically motivated analysis of spin-correlation calculations in a quantum system composed of two spin-1/21/21/2 particles. Rather than aiming at new physical results, our purpose is to clarify and bring attention to different strategies for evaluating expectation values of the form ⟨ψ∣Su^(1)Sv^(2)∣ψ⟩\langle ψ| S^{(1)}_{\hat{\boldsymbol{u}}} S^{(2)}_{\hat{\boldsymbol{v}}} | ψ\rangle⟨ψ∣Su^(1)​Sv^(2)​∣ψ⟩, which play an important role in discussions of entanglement and Bell-type correlations. We compare three complementary approaches. The first follows a direct algebraic evaluation in the product basis, closely related to standard textbook methods. The second uses a matrix representation of bipartite states, in which the tensor-product structure is expressed in terms of 2×22\times22×2 complex matrices. This representation keeps the calculation close to the familiar Pauli-matrix algebra and makes the independent action of operators on each subsystem more transparent. The third explores a symmetry-based argument, highlighting both its usefulness and its limitations when applied beyond the singlet state. We show explicitly that the singlet state is rotationally invariant, which explains why the symmetry argument successfully reproduces its correlation function, while a naive extension fails for triplet states. The discussion illustrates how entanglement, tensor-product structure, and rotational symmetry interplay in spin correlations.
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A novel representation of spin 1/2 combines in a single geometric object the standard Pauli spin operator and spin state. Under the spin-position decoupling approximation it consists of the sum of three orthogonal vectors comprising a gauge phase. In the one-spin case the representation: (1) is Hermitian; (2) endowed with handedness; (3) yields all standard results, including the total spin angular momentum S=(√3 ℏ)⁄2; (4) relates basis spins by proper rotations, thus preserving handedness; (5) allows formalizing irreversibility in spin measurement. In the bipartite case: (1) entangled spins have precisely related gauge phases and opposite handedness; (2) maximally entangled spins relate by one of the four improper rotations in 3D: plane-reflections (triplets) and inversion (singlet); (3) the full spin expressions yield the standard total two-spin angular momentum; (4) all standard expected values for bipartite observations follow. Depending on whether spin operations act one – or two – sided, the formalism appears in two complementary forms, the ‘spinor’ or the ‘vector’ form, respectively. The proposed scheme provides a clear geometric picture of spin transformations and correlations in the 3D physical orientation space.
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Our work addresses the problem of generating maximally entangled two spin-1/2 (qubit) symmetric states using NMR, NQR, Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick Hamiltonians. Time evolution of such Hamiltonians provides various logic gates which can be used for quantum processing tasks. Pairs of spin-1/2's have modeled a wide range of problems in physics. Here we are interested in two spin-1/2 symmetric states which belong to a subspace spanned by the angular momentum basis {|j = 1, {\mu}>; {\mu} = +1, 0,-1}. Our technique relies on the decomposition of a Hamiltonian in terms of SU(3) generators. In this context, we define a set of linearly independent, traceless, Hermitian operators which provides an alternate set of SU(n) generators. These matrices are constructed out of angular momentum operators Jx,Jy,Jz. We construct and study the properties of perfect entanglers acting on a symmetric subspace i.e., spin-1 operators that can generate maximally entangled states from some suitably chosen initial separable states in terms of their entangling power.
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