Related papers: Microcanonical distributions for quantum systems
A quantum microcanonical postulate is proposed as a basis for the equilibrium properties of small quantum systems. Expressions for the corresponding density of states are derived, and are used to establish the existence of phase transitions…
This letter examines the consequences of a recently proposed modification of the postulate of equal {\it a priori} probability in quantum statistical mechanics. This modification, called the {\it quantum microcanonical postulate} (QMP),…
A new microcanonical equilibrium state is introduced for quantum systems with finite-dimensional state spaces. Equilibrium is characterised by a uniform distribution on a level surface of the expectation value of the Hamiltonian. The…
The microcanonical ensemble has long been a starting point for the development of thermodynamics from statistical mechanics. However, this approach presents two problems. First, it predicts that the entropy is only defined on a discrete set…
We consider conditions under which an isolated quantum system approaches a microcanonical equilibrium state. A key component is the eigenstate thermalisation hypothesis, which proposes that all energy eigenstates appear thermal. We…
Descriptions of molecular systems usually refer to two distinct theoretical frameworks. On the one hand the quantum pure state, i.e. the wavefunction, of an isolated system which is determined to calculate molecular properties and to…
A quantum mechanical explanation of the relaxation to equilibrium is shown for macroscopic systems for nonintegrable cases and numerically verified. The macroscopic system is initially in an equilibrium state, subsequently externally…
We propose a new approach to justify the use of the microcanonical ensemble for isolated macroscopic quantum systems. Since there are huge number of independent observables in a macroscopic system, we cannot see all of them. Actually what…
It is shown that a small system in thermodynamic equilibrium with a finite thermostat can have a q-exponential probability distribution which closely depends on the energy nonextensivity and the particle number of the thermostat. The…
For a macroscopic, isolated quantum system in an unknown pure state, the expectation value of any given observable is shown to hardly deviate from the ensemble average with extremely high probability under generic equilibrium and…
A multicanonical formalism is applied to the problem of statistical equilibrium in a complex system with a hierarchy of dynamical structures. At the small scales the system is in quasi-equilibrium and follows a Maxwell-Boltzmann…
It is assumed that the quantum state that may describe a macroscopic system at a given instant of time is one of the eigenstates of the reduced density matrix calculated from the wave function of the system plus its environment. This…
We show insurmountable contradictions which arise if statistical ensembles are considered a consequence of the influence of the environment of the physical systems. We regard the multiplicity of states with a definite energy value as a…
The paper demonstrates that the canonical probability distribution of the occupancy numbers of a bosonic system is multinomial, and shows how the thermodynamics of the canonical system descends from this distribution. The categorical…
New exact results about the nonequilibrium thermodynamics of open quantum systems at arbitrary timescales are obtained by considering all possible variations of initial conditions of a system, its environment, and correlations between them.…
We propose a definition of microcanonical and canonical statistical ensembles based on the concept of density of states. This definition applies both to the classical and the quantum case. For the microcanonical case this allows for a…
Based on the view that thermal equilibrium should be characterized through macroscopic observations, we develop a general theory about typicality of thermal equilibrium and the approach to thermal equilibrium in macroscopic quantum systems.…
The grand canonical ensemble lies at the core of quantum and classical statistical mechanics. A small system thermalizes to this ensemble while exchanging heat and particles with a bath. A quantum system may exchange quantities represented…
The capabilities of a new approach towards the foundations of Statistical Mechanics are explored. The approach is genuine quantum in the sense that statistical behavior is a consequence of objective quantum uncertainties due to entanglement…
This work describes the statistics for the occupation numbers of quantum levels in a large isolated quantum system, where all possible superpositions of eigenstates are allowed, provided all these superpositions have the same fixed energy.…