Mixed states for reference frames transformations
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.
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