English

Mixed states for reference frames transformations

Quantum Physics 2026-03-24 v3 High Energy Physics - Theory Mathematical Physics Group Theory math.MP

Abstract

We discuss the concept of transformations among reference frames (classical or quantum). Usually transformations among classical reference frames have sharply defined parameters; geometrically they can be considered as {pure states in the parameters' space, and they form a group. It is however possible that the distributions in the parameters' space are mixed states; such states form a semigroup. Similarly, transformations among quantum reference frames can be either pure or mixed. This gives rise to interesting consequences: the state of a system can be pure with respect to a reference frame and mixed with respect to another; we concretely discuss this in the framework of Galilei transformations in 1+1 dimensions. In particular, if the state of a reference frame with respect to another frame is thermal at some temperature, a quantum particle in the pure (improper) rest state with respect to the first frame will appear in a thermal state with a related nonzero temperature with respect to the other. This can also be discussed in relation to the time/energy uncertainty relation.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2507.05758,
  title  = {Mixed states for reference frames transformations},
  author = {Gaetano Fiore and Fedele Lizzi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.05758},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

22 pages, two figures. Sections on Galilei transformations and thermal states rewritten and merged. Other minor corrections