Related papers: A different approach to introducing statistical me…
We examine the question of whether the formal expressions of equilibrium statistical mechanics can be applied to time independent non-dissipative systems that are not in true thermodynamic equilibrium and are nonergodic. By assuming the…
We discuss several ways of illustrating fundamental concepts in statistical and thermal physics by considering various models and algorithms. We emphasize the importance of replacing students' incomplete mental images by models that are…
The formation of large-scale vortices is an intriguing phenomenon in two-dimensional turbulence. Such organization is observed in large-scale oceanic or atmospheric flows, and can be reproduced in laboratory experiments and numerical…
Gibbs and Boltzmann definitions of temperature agree only in the macroscopic limit. The ambiguity in identifying the equilibrium temperature of a finite sized `small' system exchanging energy with a bath is usually understood as a…
Heat engines convert thermal energy into mechanical work both in the classical and quantum regimes. However, quantum theory offers genuine nonclassical forms of energy, different from heat, which so far have not been exploited in cyclic…
A unified conceptual foundation of classical and quantum physics is given, free of undefined terms. Ensembles are defined by extending the `probability via expectation' approach of Whittle to noncommuting quantities. This approach carries…
A heat engine undergoes a cyclic operation while in equilibrium with the net result of conversion of heat into work. Quantum effects such as superposition of states can improve an engine's efficiency by breaking detailed balance, but this…
The random matrix ensembles (RME) of quantum statistical Hamiltonian operators, e.g. Gaussian random matrix ensembles (GRME) and Ginibre random matrix ensembles (Ginibre RME), are applied to following quantum statistical systems: nuclear…
A microscopic understanding of the thermodynamic entropy in quantum systems has been a mystery ever since the invention of quantum mechanics. In classical physics, this entropy is believed to be the logarithm of the volume of phase space…
Thermodynamics and its quantum counterpart are traditionally described with statistical ensembles. Canonical typicality has related statistical mechanics for a system to ensembles of global energy eigen- states of system and its environment…
We prove the second law of thermodynamics and the nonequilibirum fluctuation theorem for pure quantum states.The entire system obeys reversible unitary dynamics, where the initial state of the heat bath is not the canonical distribution but…
The statistical mechanical description of two-dimensional inviscid fluid turbulence is reconsidered. Using this description, we make predictions about turbulent flow in a rapidly rotating laboratory annulus. Measurements on the continuously…
This article is a short version of a longer article to appear in Physics Reports (cond-mat/9708200). The essential postulates of classical thermodynamics are formulated, from which the second law is deduced as the principle of increase of…
The volume of phase space may grow super-exponentially ("explosively") with the number of degrees of freedom for certain types of complex systems such as those encountered in biology and neuroscience, where components interact and create…
We consider stochastic thermodynamics as a theory of statistical inference for experimentally observed fluctuating time-series. To that end, we introduce a general framework for quantifying the knowledge about the dynamical state of the…
A major part of the many thermally driven processes in our natural environment as well as in engineering solutions of Carnot-type machinery is based on the second law of thermodynamics (or principle of entropy increase). An interesting link…
The image of physics is connected with simple "mechanical" deterministic events: that an apple always falls down, that force equals mass times acceleleration. Indeed, applications of such concept to social or historical problems go back two…
Entropy can signify different things: For instance, heat transfer in thermodynamics or a measure of information in data analysis. Many entropies have been introduced and it can be difficult to ascertain their different importance and…
A new statistical ensemble is examined using the example of classical one-component simple fluid. It's logical to call it an open ensemble, because its peculiarity is the inclusion in the consideration some surrounding area. Calculations…
The conceptual setting of quantum mechanics is subject to an ongoing debate from its beginnings until now. The consequences of the apparent differences between quantum statistics and classical statistics range from the philosophical…