Question
This quantity increases with each summed Hilbert space in the standard construction of Fock space. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this quantity that, by definition, is well-defined in a Fock state. In their original usage, creation and annihilation operators alter this quantity.
ANSWER: particle number [or number of particles; prompt on N]
[10e] Applying the annihilation operator N times yields this Fock state, in which there are zero particles. This state is named for space that contains no matter.
ANSWER: vacuum state
[10m] This Englishman-turned-Floridian introduced creation and annihilation operators. This physicist predicted the existence of the positron via his relativistic generalization of the Schrödinger equation.
ANSWER: Paul Dirac [or Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac; accept the Dirac equation]
<David Bass, Science - Physics> ~23706~ <Editor: David Bass>
Data
Summary
| Tournament | Edition | Exact Match? | Heard | PPB | Easy % | Medium % | Hard % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 PACE NSC | 06/08/2024 | Y | 36 | 14.72 | 94% | 50% | 3% |