Bloch Sphere

The Author July 18, 2010

z = x + iy on the Bloch Sphere : |z|2 = 1 |x2 + y 2 | = 1. This is a unit circle around the origin. Now, the state of a qubit is represented as a vector in the 2-D plane: | = |0 + |1 , with a constraint |2 + 2 | = 1. We can represent this in polar form: z = rei z = ei therefore: | = r ei |0 + r ei |1 now to both sides of the above relation we can multiply ei (for any , the factor of ei does not aect the normalization.) and relation ||2 + ||2 = 1 still holds. So we can multiply ei on both sides: | = r |0 + r ei |1 let = so we have : | = r |0 + r ei |1 $

now we can revert back the second term of the R.H.S to cartesian form: | = r |0 + (x + iy)|1 on imposing the normalization condition we get:
2 |r + x2 + y 2 | = 1

The above is the equation of a sphere with coordinates x,y,r . We can shift to polar coordinates by putting: x = rsincos y = rsinsin z = rcos

(here r = z) | = cos|0 + sin(cos + sin)|1 | = cos|0 + sin(ei )|1 in this above expression if we put = 0, we get | = 0 , and if we put = , 2 we get : | = ei |1 so this means that from = 0 to , all the values from 0 2 to 1 , are covered.

The state of any two state system is represented by a point in a two dimensional complex vector space. Since, this is a two dimensional complex vector space, each dimension (like we have x, y, and z dimensions in the cartesian frame) is complex. Each complex number needs two real numbers to represent itself. So, the state can now be described by four real quantities, rather that two complex quantities. Hence, we have: The state in the two dimensional complex vector space is: | = |0 + |1 Since, and are complex, each of them can be described by two real quantities: = (r , i ) and = (r , i ) The normalization condition: ||2 + ||2 = 1 , now translates to the condition on the four real quantities as: |r |2 + |i |2 + |r |2 + |i |2 = 1. (1) Just like how the equation x2 + y 2 + z 2 = 1 represents the surface of a sphere, placed in a three dimensional space, the above equation (1) represents the surface of the sphere kept in a four dimensional space. Now, this is the motivation for us to try to describe the state of a two state system as a point on the sphere. A four dimensional space is still a bizarre object for us to imagine. So, we need to try and remove one degree of freedom here so that we get our usual two dimensional sphere in a three dimensional space. The two dimensional sphere hence obtained is known as the Bloch Sphere. For this purpose, we need to work out the above process in the polar form. So, we shall have: The complex numbers: = r ei and = r ei Therefore, the state of the system, | = r ei + r ei So, till this point, we have been working with a sphere kept in a four dimensional space, as there are four real quantities in the equation of the state. Now, we need to remove one degree of freedom, that is eliminate one real quantity from the equation of the state. For doing so, we need to recollect a very important feature of quantum mechanics that any quantum mechanical system is invariant under rotation by a overall phase. The following sentence can be realized if we go back to our basic state of the quantum mechanical system. The state is represented by | which is actually a probability amplitude. But what we can measure is the probability density, denoted by | |2 . So, even if there is an overall phase factor, like , in the probability amplitude, it will not aect our measurement, and for all values of , the system will be identical1 . So, let us multiply the system by an overall phase angle:
1

In fact, this probability amplitude is the reason for interference.