(a) A spinless charged particle moves in an electromagnetic field defined by vector and scalar potentials $\mathbf{A}(\mathbf{x}, t)$ and $\phi(\mathbf{x}, t)$. The wavefunction $\psi(\mathbf{x}, t)$ for the particle satisfies the time-dependent Schrödinger equation with Hamiltonian

$$\hat{H}_{0}=\frac{1}{2 m}(-i \hbar \boldsymbol{\nabla}+e \mathbf{A}) \cdot(-i \hbar \boldsymbol{\nabla}+e \mathbf{A})-e \phi .$$

Consider a gauge transformation

$$\mathbf{A} \rightarrow \tilde{\mathbf{A}}=\mathbf{A}+\nabla f, \quad \phi \rightarrow \tilde{\phi}=\phi-\frac{\partial f}{\partial t}, \quad \psi \rightarrow \tilde{\psi}=\exp \left(-\frac{i e f}{\hbar}\right) \psi$$

for some function $f(\mathbf{x}, t)$. Define covariant derivatives with respect to space and time, and show that $\tilde{\psi}$ satisfies the Schrödinger equation with potentials $\tilde{\mathbf{A}}$ and $\tilde{\phi}$.

(b) Suppose that in part (a) the magnetic field has the form $\mathbf{B}=\boldsymbol{\nabla} \times \mathbf{A}=(0,0, B)$, where $B$ is a constant, and that $\phi=0$. Find a suitable $\mathbf{A}$ with $A_{y}=A_{z}=0$ and determine the energy levels of the Hamiltonian $\hat{H}_{0}$ when the $z$-component of the momentum of the particle is zero. Suppose in addition that the particle is constrained to lie in a rectangular region of area $\mathcal{A}$ in the $(x, y)$-plane. By imposing periodic boundary conditions in the $x$-direction, estimate the degeneracy of each energy level. [You may use without proof results for a quantum harmonic oscillator, provided they are clearly stated.]

(c) An electron is a charged particle of spin $\frac{1}{2}$ with a two-component wavefunction $\psi(\mathbf{x}, t)$ governed by the Hamiltonian

$$\hat{H}=\hat{H}_{0} \mathbb{I}_{2}+\frac{e \hbar}{2 m} \mathbf{B} \cdot \boldsymbol{\sigma}$$

where $\mathbb{I}_{2}$ is the $2 \times 2$ unit matrix and $\sigma=\left(\sigma_{1}, \sigma_{2}, \sigma_{3}\right)$ denotes the Pauli matrices. Find the energy levels for an electron in the constant magnetic field defined in part (b), assuming as before that the $z$-component of the momentum of the particle is zero.

Consider $N$ such electrons confined to the rectangular region defined in part (b). Ignoring interactions between the electrons, show that the ground state energy of this system vanishes for $N$ less than some integer $N_{\max }$ which you should determine. Find the ground state energy for $N=(2 p+1) N_{\max }$, where $p$ is a positive integer.