A particle of mass $m$ and charge $q$ moving in a uniform magnetic field $\mathbf{B}=\nabla \times \mathbf{A}=$ $(0,0, B)$ and electric field $\mathbf{E}=-\nabla \phi$ is described by the Hamiltonian

$$H=\frac{1}{2 m}|\mathbf{p}-q \mathbf{A}|^{2}+q \phi$$

where $\mathbf{p}$ is the canonical momentum.

[ In the following you may use without proof any results concerning the spectrum of the harmonic oscillator as long as they are stated clearly.]

(a) Let $\mathbf{E}=\mathbf{0}$. Choose a gauge which preserves translational symmetry in the $y$ direction. Determine the spectrum of the system, restricted to states with $p_{z}=0$. The system is further restricted to lie in a rectangle of area $A=L_{x} L_{y}$, with sides of length $L_{x}$ and $L_{y}$ parallel to the $x$ - and $y$-axes respectively. Assuming periodic boundary conditions in the $y$-direction, estimate the degeneracy of each Landau level.

(b) Consider the introduction of an additional electric field $\mathbf{E}=(\mathcal{E}, 0,0)$. Choosing a suitable gauge (with the same choice of vector potential $\mathbf{A}$ as in part (a)), write down the resulting Hamiltonian. Find the energy spectrum for a particle on $\mathbb{R}^{3}$ again restricted to states with $p_{z}=0$.

Define the group velocity of the electron and show that its $y$-component is given by $v_{y}=-\mathcal{E} / B$.

When the system is further restricted to a rectangle of area $A$ as above, show that the previous degeneracy of the Landau levels is lifted and determine the resulting energy gap $\Delta E$ between the ground-state and the first excited state.