Abstract
Envariance—entanglement assisted invariance—is a recently discovered symmetry of composite quantum systems. We show that thermodynamic equilibrium states are fully characterized by their envariance. In particular, the microcanonical equilibrium of a system with Hamiltonian is a fully energetically degenerate quantum state envariant under every unitary transformation. The representation of the canonical equilibrium then follows from simply counting degenerate energy states. Our conceptually novel approach is free of mathematically ambiguous notions such as ensemble, randomness, etc., and, while it does not even rely on probability, it helps to understand its role in the quantum world.
Highlights
Statistical physics was developed in the XIX century
The key task of statistical physics was to bridge the chasm between microstates and thermodynamic macrostates
In the present paper we propose an alternative approach to the foundations of statistical mechanics that is free of the conceptual caveats of classical theory, and relies purely on quantum mechanical notions such as entanglement
Summary
Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Abstract. Envariance—entanglement assisted invariance—is a recently discovered symmetry of composite. We show that thermodynamic equilibrium states are fully characterized by their this work must maintain attribution to the envariance. The microcanonical equilibrium of a system with Hamiltonian H is a author(s) and the title of fully energetically degenerate quantum state envariant under every unitary transformation. The the work, journal citation and DOI. Representation of the canonical equilibrium follows from counting degenerate energy states. Our conceptually novel approach is free of mathematically ambiguous notions such as ensemble, randomness, etc., and, while it does not even rely on probability, it helps to understand its role in the quantum world
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