Related papers: On the explanation for quantum statistics
Entanglement is often regarded as an inherently quantum feature. We show that this does not have to be the case: under restricted operational access, classical correlations can appear nonseparable when expressed in the formalism of quantum…
The properties which give quantum mechanics its unique character - unitarity, complementarity, non-commutativity, uncertainty, nonlocality - derive from the algebraic structure of Hermitian operators acting on the wavefunction in complex…
The classical Gibbs paradox concerns the entropy change upon mixing two gases. Whether an observer assigns an entropy increase to the process depends on their ability to distinguish the gases. A resolution is that an "ignorant" observer,…
Concepts like `typicality' and the `eigenstate thermalization hypothesis' aim at explaining the apparent equilibration of quantum systems, possibly after a very long time. However, these concepts are not concerned with the specific way in…
In this work, we show that very natural, apparently simple problems in quantum measurement theory can be undecidable even if their classical analogues are decidable. Undecidability hence appears as a genuine quantum property here. Formally,…
In consistent history quantum theory, a description of the time development of a quantum system requires choosing a framework or consistent family, and then calculating probabilities for the different histories which it contains. It is…
Since the advent of quantum mechanics we have mainly been concerned with its predictions from the perspective of an external observer. This is in strong contrast to the theory of general relativity, where the physics is governed by the…
We propose the assumption of quantum mechanics on a discrete space and time, which implies the modification of mathematical expressions for some postulates of quantum mechanics. In particular we have a Hilbert space where the vectors are…
In this article we propose a solution to the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. We point out that the measurement problem can be traced to an a priori notion of classicality in the formulation of quantum mechanics. If this notion of…
The Gibbs Mixing Paradox is a conceptual touchstone for understanding mixtures in statistical mechanics. While debates over the theoretical subtleties of particle distinguishability continue to this day, we seek to extend the discussion in…
Both classical and quantum mechanics assume that physical laws are invariant under changes in the way that the world is labeled. This Principle of Decompositional Equivalence is formalized, and shown to forbid finite experimental…
The Gibbs paradox is a conventional paradox in classical statistical mechanics, typically resolved by invoking quantum indistinguishability through the 1/N! correction. In this letter, we present a resolution within classical ensemble…
Based on the assumption that time evolves only in one direction and mechanical systems can be described by Lagrangeans, a dynamical C*-algebra is presented for non-relativistic particles at atomic scales. Without presupposing any…
The Boltzmann and Gibbs approaches to statistical mechanics have very different definitions of equilibrium and entropy. The problems associated with this are discussed and it is suggested that they can be resolved, to produce a version of…
Quantum particles and classical particles are described in a common setting of classical statistical physics. The property of a particle being "classical" or "quantum" ceases to be a basic conceptual difference. The dynamics differs,…
We observe that quantum indistinguishability is a dynamical effect dependent on measurement duration. We propose a quantitative criterion for observing indistinguishability in quantum fluids and its implications including quantum statistics…
I contrast two possible attitudes towards a given branch of physics: as inferential (i.e., as concerned with an agent's ability to make predictions given finite information), and as dynamical (i.e., as concerned with the dynamical equations…
Classical and quantum measurement theories are usually held to be different because the algebra of classical measurements is commutative, however the Poisson bracket allows noncommutativity to be added naturally. After we introduce…
Equilibrium statistical mechanics provides powerful tools to understand physics at the macroscale. Yet, the question remains how this can be justified based on a microscopic quantum description. Here, we extend the ideas of pure state…
For a system to qualify as a quantum fluid, quantum-statistical effects should operate in addition to quantum-mechanical ones. Here, we address the hitherto unexplored dynamical condition for the quantum-statistical effects to be…