English

Chaos, Thermodynamics and Quantum Mechanics: an Application to Celestial Dynamics

Quantum Physics 2011-08-04 v2 chao-dyn Chaotic Dynamics

Abstract

We address the issue of the quantum-classical correspondence in chaotic systems using, as recently done by Zurek [e-print quant-ph/9802054], the solar system as a whole as a case study: this author shows that the classicality of the planetary motion is ensured by the environment-induced decoherence. We show that equivalent results are provided by the theories of spontaneous fluctuations and that these latter theories, in some cases, result in a still faster process of decoherence. We show that, as an additional benefit, the assumption of spontaneous fluctuation makes it possible to genuinely derive thermodynamics from mechanics, namely, without implicitly assuming thermodynamics.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.quant-ph/9806092,
  title  = {Chaos, Thermodynamics and Quantum Mechanics: an Application to Celestial Dynamics},
  author = {David Vitali and Paolo Grigolini},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/9806092},
  year   = {2011}
}

Comments

9 pages, two tables included, RevTex. Concluding part of Sec. IV revised and shortened

R2 v1 2026-07-22T20:04:10.470Z