Decoherence: Subjective Round

23rd July 2022

Rules and Regulations

ˆ The question paper will be sent by 9:00 am IST, 23rd July 2022.
ˆ The answer scripts are to be submitted before 3:00 am IST, 25th July 2022.
ˆ All submissions are to be made via email, to [email protected]. Kindly submit in pdf format.
ˆ The marking scheme is as follows:
1. 10
2. 10
3. 10
4. 10
5. 10
6. 20
7. 15
8. 15
ˆ This is an open internet exam. You are allowed to refer to any non-living sources. Any sources referred to must
be cited. Plagiarism will be dealt with strictly.
ˆ Answers may be typed, hand-written, or a combination of the two. Please clearly indicate which answer corre-
sponds to which question number.
ˆ For any clarifications required, contact us at [email protected].

1 We Three Balls!
Three identical balls x, y and z of mass m each are connected with two weightless equal rods (say of length l). One
connects x and y and the other connects y and z. The rods are in-extensible, but free to rotate around y. (y acts as
a pivot) The entire system is in free space in a straight line and a velocity v is instantly imparted to z, perpendicular
to the straight line.

Q. What is the minimum distance between x and z in the subsequent motion?

Figure 1: Setup for Q1

1
2 Fancy Superconductors for Marketing Purposes
A tiny magnet of negligible mass and magnetic dipole moment p is put (freely) inside a hollow sphere of inner radius
R and thickness a made out of YBCO. YBCO is a high-temperature superconductor. The sphere, with the magnet
inside it is the put inside liquid nitrogen. Assume that the penetration depth of magnetic field inside YBCO at this
temperature is much less than R and a.

Q1. What is the position of the magnet and maximum surface current density on the inner surface of the sphere?

Q2. Now, suppose the magnet is displaced by an amount x in the direction of its dipole moment, what will be the
restoring force exerted on it by the sphere?

3 Hamiltonian, Except Your Core beliefs Don’t Hold Anymore

We have the following Hamiltonian for an electron present in a hydrogen-like (mono-electronic) atomic species:

ℏ2 2 Ze2
Ĥ0 = − ∇ +
2m 4πϵ0 r̂

Now, in order to model the capture of K-shell electrons into the nucleus (if possible), we shall add a capture term:

iU e−r̂/an
Ĥ ′ = −
r̂
This makes the Hamiltonian non-Hermitian, and hence, causes it to have complex eigenvalues.
Potassium 40 decays via K-capture:
K 40 + e− −→ Ar40 + νe
Now, we shall use this additional term to model the decay. an = 4.1f m is the radius of the Potassium nucleus.
U = 3.73 × 10−54 J-m.

Q1. Using first order perturbation methods, evaluate the change in energy eigenvalue for the ground state of the
electron.

Q2. Using, this, determine the average life time of the K-40.

4 Good Old Rope

A rope of length L (It is NOT mass-less), is hanging from a point on the ceiling. Given below is a diagram (to scale)
of three modes of vibration of rope, with each having frequency f1 , f2 and f3 respectively.

Q1. Assume a simplified model, calculate f1 , given that L = 1.0 m and g = 9.8 m/s2

f3
Q2. Using the figure, calculate f1 .

2
 Figure 2: Rope Vibration Modes

5 Fancy-Schmancy Dimensions... In the other direction

5.1 The discovery
Somewhere in the far reaches of hyperspace, there existed a one dimensional universe, with the same physics, ℏ, c, ϵ0
and with particles similar to ours... protons, electrons and neutrons, making up atoms. The masses, charges and
the spin of these particles are exactly the same as in our universe. One day some intelligent being in their universe
(correctly) postulates that their universe is actually two dimensional, with the second dimension compactified. This
just means that the one dimensional universe is actually the surface of a long thin cylinder.

5.2 The heavier cousins of the particles

The compactification of the second dimension actually serves to quantize the values of momentum along that
dimension. Because of this, a particle with an additional quantum of momentum in that direction can behave like a
new heavier cousin particle, with all other properties being the same.

Q1. Find the mass of the first heavier cousin of a particle in terms of its mass m and the circumference in the
compactified dimension lc .

Q2. If the first cousin of the electron is 207 times the mass of the electron (that is the mass of the muon in our
universe), find the numerical value of lc .
We shall now on refer to these particles as muons.

5.3 Pauli exclusion principle

In their universe, as in ours, neutrons are only stable inside nuclei. Free neutrons immediately decay. However, this
is not true if the neutron is surrounded by a swarm of protons and electrons.

Q3. Find the particle density of protons/electrons (the gas is electrically neutral) such that neutron decay will be
an energy consuming process.

Q4. Is it possible to create muons just by compressing hydrogen gas?

Q5. If we take a gas of pure electrons and attempt to compress it until we see muons being produced, what will be
the particle density of the gas then?

3
6 Random Walk: Pro-Max-Ultra
6.1 The scene
Consider a particle in a one dimensional universe exhibiting a random walk. This just means that the particle moves
one step forward or one step backward randomly. Consider, for simplicity, the step size to be δx. It is very small,
and shall be taken infinitesimal later, but we need not worry about that at the moment. Similarly, assume time itself
to flow in discrete steps of δt each. We have set the conditions in the 1-D universe such that the probability that a
particle at x jumps forward to x + δx in any given time-step is pf (x) and the probability that it jumps backward from
x to x − δx is pb (x). pb and pf only differ slightly from each other. We will take appropriate limits in the end. It is
generally more convenient to define:
pf + pb
= π(x)
2
pf − pb

= ϕ(x) ≪ π(x)
2

We note that π(x) represents the total likelihood of a particle jumping away in δt interval. That this depends on x
shows that the particle has different ‘comfort levels’ at different locations. Further, ϕ(x) represents that the particle
has some ‘directionality’ to the motion, which as well depends on the position. By the end of the problem, you shall
be able to assign a physical meaning to this comfort and directionality.

6.2 General motion

Let us represent the probability function of a particle by Π(x, t). This is the probability that, at time t, the particle
is found at x.

Q1. Find the equation governing the behaviour of Π(x, t). Use δx and δt being small to simplify, but retain all
terms.

Q2. Show that for the ‘comfort’ and ‘direction’ effects to have macroscopic significance, as δx andδt tend to zero,
the co-efficients π and ϕ must be such that:
δx2
π(x) = g(x)
δt
δx
ϕ(x) = f (x)
δt
with f (x) and g(x) being sensible finite valued functions. Write down the resulting equation. Note also that changing
the definition of Π(x, t) to now mean the probability density of finding the particle near x at time t has no effect on
the equation.

Now, this equation has no more δx and δt lying about, and we shall now on consider this equation as defining the
random walk in our continuum space with continuum time.

6.3 Stationary analysis

Now, let us work with the equation after setting g(x) = G, a constant.

Q3. Show that a stationary solution to the equation (i.e. a solution independent of time) is:
2
Rx
f (x)dx
Π(x) = Ae G 0

with A being a normalization constant. Also reason why any physical solution of the equation must be of this form.
Note the resemblance of this with: −V (x)
e kB T
The expected probability function at thermal equilibrium at temperature T under potential V (x). We shall explore
this further later.

4
6.4 0-g analysis
For this part, we assume g(x) = 0 everywhere. We shall explicitly try to see the time dependence here.

Q4. Assume Π(x, 0) = δ(x − x0 ), there δ(x) is the Dirac-delta function of x. Analyse how Π(x, t) evolves with time.
d 1
You may use: δ(x) = − δ(x)
dx x

Q5. Now, assume f (x) = F is a constant. Show that:

Π(x, t) = Π(x − 2f t, 0)

6.5 Interpretation
In the above parts, we have solved the equation in some special simple cases, and seen how the function P i(x)
behaves. This has (hopefully) given you an insight into the nature of f (x) and g(x).

Our equation describes the behaviour of the probability function of a particle suspended in a highly viscous liquid
in one dimension. The kinematic equation of the particle in the liquid is of the form F = −µv, where v is the velocity
of the particle, and F is the force applied. There exist external agents leading to the force acting on the particle to
vary with position as F (x). Also, temperature varies across the length of the liquid as well, given by T (x).

Q6. Using your insight into the problem, write f (x) in terms of µ and F (x).

Q7. Further, write g(x) in terms of T (x) and µ.

Q8. Write the equation for the probability function in terms of the physical quantities, i.e. µ, F (x) and T (x).

7 Aliens!
7.1 Backstory
Upon making contact with an advanced alien civilization, there is excitement on the Earth. The civilization is very
advanced, so, it is important to make peace with them. You are sent on a peaceful contact mission. However, once you
enter the alien spaceship, you realize that the aliens are mocking you and the human race. They think, ”The humans
knew that they stood no chance against us, so, they want peace. Otherwise, humans are a war-loving species.” You
get angry, and say, ”We may just be a few years behind technologically, but our brains are just as sharp, maybe even
sharper than yours.”

The aliens, now rolling with laughter, put you inside a dungeon. The dungeon is locked by a password, and the
aliens say that if you can guess the password, you shall be let out. A sadistic alien (that would be me) then gives you
the puzzle.

”I have used the decimal system and Earthly units for your convenience Earthling. I an giving you a metal chip.
This is etched in a regular, lattice-like manner. The parameters of the lattice shall help you get the password, in the
manner shown in this paper.”

5
 Figure 3: Setup

7.2 Quest
You do carry around a laser of wavelength 532 nm in your pocket. You place the metal chip exactly one metre away
from you, very carefully. You get a flat screen, make a hole in it for the laser, and shine it through the hole to hit
the chip normally. This is the pattern you obtain on your screen (Scale shows the lengths in centimeters)(Neglect the
central hole, that was for the laser).

6
 Figure 4: Laser Pattern

Q. Make your best guess of the password. Show your working clearly. (You may use any software to measure lengths
and angles. A good example would be Microsoft Word’s length measurement feature.)

8 Spinny-Spinny Asteroid
8.1 Introduction
While our Earth is pretty close to a sphere, there exist small rocky objects across space which aren’t. One such
object is ‘Ultima Thule’ imaged by the New Horizons probe. We shall look at another similar object, far from the
Sun. For simplicity, model this object as two identical uniform spheres stuck together.

7
 Figure 5: Ultima Thule as imaged by the New Horizons probe

8.2 Your problem

The object you will study has never been looked at by a space probe. It is so far from the Sun that you can
practically assume that its bright side shall be facing you all the time. Also, you can’t even see the surface of the body
or even its shape. All you can see for sure is its brightness. Assume also that the object you are looking at is ‘perfectly
rough’. (This means that the brightness doesn’t depend on the orientation of the surface. For example, look at the
image of Ultima Thule in figure 1. The body looks kind of the same near its edges as it does near the centre. Just by
looking at it from a single direction, you can’t say anything about the inclination of the surface relative to you.)

You see the brightness to vary with time as shown in figure 2. The graph is a simplified representation, but captures
all essential features.

Figure 6: Brightness vs time

Q1. Explain how the derivative discontinuity at the minima justifies our assumption of the two spheres being equal
in size. This should also tell you about the orientation of the spheres at that time.

Q2. The fact that the maximum brightness is not twice the minimum tells us that the rotation of this body involves
a rotation about the symmetry axis, as well as precession about another axis, as shown in figure 3. Find θ, Ω and ω.

8
Figure 7: General motion of the asteroid