dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe foundations of statistical mechanics from entanglement: Individual states vs. averages
| Authors | Sandu Popescu, Anthony J. Short, Andreas Winter |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0511225 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0511225 |
| DOI | 10.1038/nphys444 |
| Journal | Nature Physics 2(11):754-758, 2006 |
Abstract
We consider an alternative approach to the foundations of statistical mechanics, in which subjective randomness, ensemble-averaging or time-averaging are not required. Instead, the universe (i.e. the system together with a sufficiently large environment) is in a quantum pure state subject to a global constraint, and thermalisation results from entanglement between system and environment. We formulate and prove a "General Canonical Principle", which states that the system will be thermalised for almost all pure states of the universe, and provide rigorous quantitative bounds using Levy's Lemma.
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"abstract": "We consider an alternative approach to the foundations of statistical\nmechanics, in which subjective randomness, ensemble-averaging or time-averaging\nare not required. Instead, the universe (i.e. the system together with a\nsufficiently large environment) is in a quantum pure state subject to a global\nconstraint, and thermalisation results from entanglement between system and\nenvironment. We formulate and prove a \"General Canonical Principle\", which\nstates that the system will be thermalised for almost all pure states of the\nuniverse, and provide rigorous quantitative bounds using Levy\u0027s Lemma.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0511225",
"authors": [
"Sandu Popescu",
"Anthony J. Short",
"Andreas Winter"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph",
"cond-mat.stat-mech"
],
"doi": "10.1038/nphys444",
"journal_ref": "Nature Physics 2(11):754-758, 2006",
"title": "The foundations of statistical mechanics from entanglement: Individual states vs. averages",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0511225"
},
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