Quantum Two 1

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Angular Momentum and Rotations 3

Introduction 4

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That is, if the coordinates and momenta of the entire system are rotated "rigidly" about some point, the energy of the system is unchanged and, more importantly, it is the same function of the dynamical variables as it was before the rotation. Such a circumstance would not apply, e.g., to a system lying in an externally imposed electric or gravitational field pointing in some specific direction. Thus, the invariance of an isolated system under rotations ultimately arises from the fact that, in the absence of external fields of this sort, space is isotropic; it behaves the same way in all directions. 8

That is, if the coordinates and momenta of the entire system are rotated "rigidly" about some point, the energy of the system is unchanged and, more importantly, it is the same function of the dynamical variables as it was before the rotation. Such a circumstance would not apply, e.g., to a system lying in an externally imposed electric or gravitational field pointing in some specific direction. Thus, the invariance of an isolated system under rotations ultimately arises from the fact that, in the absence of external fields of this sort, space is isotropic; it behaves the same way in all directions. 9

That is, if the coordinates and momenta of the entire system are rotated "rigidly" about some point, the energy of the system is unchanged and, more importantly, it is the same function of the dynamical variables as it was before the rotation. Such a circumstance would not apply, e.g., to a system lying in an externally imposed electric or gravitational field pointing in some specific direction. Thus, the invariance of an isolated system under rotations ultimately arises from the fact that, in the absence of external fields of this sort, space is isotropic; it behaves the same way in all directions. 10

That is, if the coordinates and momenta of the entire system are rotated "rigidly" about some point, the energy of the system is unchanged and, more importantly, it is the same function of the dynamical variables as it was before the rotation. Such a circumstance would not apply, e.g., to a system lying in an externally imposed electric or gravitational field pointing in some specific direction. Thus, the invariance of an isolated system under rotations ultimately arises from the fact that, in the absence of external fields of this sort, space is isotropic; it behaves the same way in all directions year WMAP image of cosmic background radiation (2012).

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The non-commutivity of these quantum observables often seems, at first encounter, a bit of a nuisance, and it seems to be part of the strangeness of quantum mechanics itself. But, this is not true. In fact, it intimately reflects the underlying structure of the three dimensional space in which we are immersed, and has its source in the fact that rotations, even of classical objects, in three dimensions about different axes do not commute with one another. 16

The non-commutivity of these quantum observables often seems, at first encounter, a bit of a nuisance, and it seems to be part of the strangeness of quantum mechanics itself. But, this is not true. In fact, it intimately reflects the underlying structure of the three dimensional space in which we are immersed, and has its source in the fact that rotations, even of classical objects, in three dimensions about different axes do not commute with one another. 17

The non-commutivity of these quantum observables often seems, at first encounter, a bit of a nuisance, and it seems to be part of the strangeness of quantum mechanics itself. But, this is not true. In fact, it intimately reflects the underlying structure of the three dimensional space in which we are immersed. It has its source in the fact that rotations, even of classical objects, in three dimensions about different axes do not commute with one another. 18

The non-commutivity of these quantum observables often seems, at first encounter, a bit of a nuisance, and it seems to be part of the strangeness of quantum mechanics itself. But, this is not true. In fact, it intimately reflects the underlying structure of the three dimensional space in which we are immersed. It has its source in the fact that rotations, even of classical objects, in three dimensions about different axes do not commute with one another. 19

The non-commutivity of these quantum observables often seems, at first encounter, a bit of a nuisance, and it seems to be part of the strangeness of quantum mechanics itself. But, this is not true. In fact, it intimately reflects the underlying structure of the three dimensional space in which we are immersed. It has its source in the fact that rotations, even of classical objects, in three dimensions about different axes do not commute with one another. 20

Indeed, this non-commutivity imparts to angular momentum observables a rich characteristic structure and makes them quite useful, e.g., in classifying the bound states of atomic, molecular, and nuclear systems containing one or more particles 21

Just as importantly, the existence of "spin" degrees of freedom, i.e., intrinsic angular momenta associated with the internal structure of fundamental particles, 22

Just as importantly, the existence of "spin" degrees of freedom, i.e., intrinsic angular momenta associated with the internal structure of fundamental particles, provides additional motivation for the study of angular momentum, and to the general transformation properties exhibited by quantum systems subjected to rotations in three dimensions. In the next segment, therefore, we begin our formal study of angular momentum observables by reviewing the definition and basic properties of the angular momentum of one or more particles. 23

Just as importantly, the existence of "spin" degrees of freedom, i.e., intrinsic angular momenta associated with the internal structure of fundamental particles, provides additional motivation for the study of angular momentum, and to the general transformation properties exhibited by quantum systems subjected to rotations in three dimensions. In the next segment, therefore, we begin our formal study of angular momentum observables by reviewing the definition and basic properties of the angular momentum of one or more particles. 24

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