Spectral Theorem Approach to the Characteristic Function of Quantum Observables

Abstract

Using the spectral theorem we compute the Quantum Fourier Transform (or Vacuum Characteristic Function) $\langle \Phi, e^{itH}\Phi\rangle$ of an observable $H$ defined as a self-adjoint sum of the generators of a finite-dimensional Lie algebra, where $\Phi$ is a unit vector in a Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}$. We show how Stone's formula for computing the spectral resolution of a Hilbert space self-adjoint operator, can serve as an alternative to the traditional reliance on splitting (or disentanglement) formulas for the operator exponential.