Related papers: The Tenth Article of Ettore Majorana
In statistical mechanics the zeroth law of thermodynamics is taken as a postulate which, as its name indicates, logically precedes the first and second laws. Treating it as a postulate has consequences for how temperature is introduced into…
We develop a general formulation of quantum statistical mechanics in terms of probability currents that satisfy continuity equations in the multi-particle position space, for closed and open systems with a fixed number of particles. The…
We elaborate on the existing notion that quantum mechanics is an emergent phenomenon, by presenting a thermodynamical theory that is dual to quantum mechanics. This dual theory is that of classical irreversible thermodynamics. The linear…
After the development of a self-consistent quantum formalism nearly a century ago there began a quest for how to interpret the theoretical constructs of the formalism. In fact, the pursuit of new interpretations of quantum mechanics…
Within the general formalism of quantum theory irreversibility and the arrow of time in the evolution of various physical systems are studied. Irreversible behavior often manifests itself in the guise of entropy production. This motivates…
Quantum mechanics---the theory describing the fundamental workings of nature---is famously counterintuitive: it predicts that a particle can be in two places at the same time, and that two remote particles can be inextricably and…
Statistical classical mechanics and quantum mechanics are developed and well-known theories that represent a basis for modern physics. The two described theories are well known and have been well studied. As these theories contain numerous…
A review of the known different methods and results devised to study the two-electron atom problem, appeared in the early years of quantum mechanics, is given, with particular reference to the calculations of the ground state energy of…
Through the H theorem, Bolzmann attempted to validate the foundations of statistical mechanics. However, it is incompatible with the fundamental laws of mechanics because its deduction requires the introduction of probability. In this paper…
Since its inception, quantum theory has been the subject of fierce interpretive controversy, which persists to this day. Disputed topics include the basic ontology and dynamics of the theory, the role (if any) of measurement, the meaning of…
The hunt for exotic properties in flowing systems is a popular and active field of study, and has recently gained renewed attention through claims such as a ``segmented Fermi surface'' in a superconducting system that hosts steady superflow…
Ever since the advent of quantum mechanics, it has been clear that the atoms composing matter do not obey Newton's laws. Instead, their behavior is described by the Schroedinger equation. Surprisingly though, until recently, no clear…
We generalize classical statistical mechanics to describe the kinematics and the dynamics of systems whose variables are constrained by a single quantum postulate (discreteness of the spectrum of values of at least one variable of the…
According to the widely accepted opinion, classical (statistical) physics does not support objective indeterminism, since the statistical laws of classical physics allow a deterministic hidden background, while --- as Arthur Fine writes…
The statistical mechanics of particles that populate indistinguishable energy sub-states is explored. In particular, the mathematical treatment of the microstates differs from conventional statistical mechanics where for a given degeneracy,…
Considering the recently established arbitrariness the Schroedinger equation has to be interpreted as an equation of motion for a statistical ensemble of particles. The statistical qualities of individual particles derive from the unknown…
In the Entropic Dynamics (ED) approach to quantum theory the particles have well-defined positions but since they follow non differentiable Brownian trajectories they cannot be assigned an instantaneous momentum. Nevertheless, four…
Consider a statistical model with an epistemic restriction such that, unlike in classical mechanics, the allowed distribution of positions is fundamentally restricted by the form of an underlying momentum field. Assume an agent (observer)…
Some interactions between classical or quantum fields and matter are known to be irreversible processes. Here we associate an entropy to the electromagnetic field from well-known notions of statistical quantum mechanics, in particular the…
Quantum mechanics is usually presented starting from a series of postulates about the mathematical framework. In this work we show that those same postulates can be derived by assuming that measurements are discrete interactions: that is,…