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International Journal of Quantum Chemistry

Some aspects of approach to equilibrium in classical and quantum systems

Juraj Kumičáak, Erkki Brändas

Published Dec 1, 1987• 18 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Investigations of general properties of time evolution of both classical and quantum systems show that the evolution (on a microscopic level) is reversible, and, if there is an approach to equilibrium, it exists only in the sense of weak convergence and necessarily in both directions of time. In this connection attempts to derive irreversibility and the approach to equilibrium in the sense of strong convergence and without any loss of information (using the so‐called Lyapunov converters) are discussed. After demonstrating their drawbacks, an alternative approach is proposed based on the spectral properties of the generator of the group. The relevant spectral criteria for the approach of both classical and quantum ensembles to equilibrium are given, and the decisive role of loss of information in obtaining stronger variants of convergence is emphasized. The asymmetry between initial and any other state —consisting of different levels of information needed to prepare the states—is proposed as an adequate explanation of irreversibility. The importance of the method of complex scaling in this context is discussed, and its application in proving some spectral properties in the quantal Hamiltonian formulation is stressed.

DOI
10.1002/qua.560320605

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Abstract Investigations of general properties of time evolution of both classical and quantum systems show that the evolution (on a microscopic level) is reversible, and, if there is an approach to equilibrium, it exists only in the sense of weak convergence and necessarily in both directions of time. In this connection attempts to derive irreversibility and the approach to equilibrium in the sense of strong convergence and without any loss of information (using the so‐called Lyapunov converters) are discussed. After demonstrating their drawbacks, an alternative approach is proposed based on the spectral properties of the generator of the group. The relevant spectral criteria for the approach of both classical and quantum ensembles to equilibrium are given, and the decisive role of loss of information in obtaining stronger variants of convergence is emphasized. The asymmetry between initial and any other state —consisting of different levels of information needed to prepare the states—is proposed as an adequate explanation of irreversibility. The importance of the method of complex scaling in this context is discussed, and its application in proving some spectral properties in the quantal Hamiltonian formulation is stressed.
Investigation on foundational aspects of quantum statistical mechanics recently entered a renaissance period due to novel intuitions from quantum information theory and to increasing attention on the dynamical aspects of single quantum systems. In the present contribution a simple but effective theoretical framework is introduced to clarify the connections between a purely mechanical description and the thermodynamic characterization of the equilibrium state of an isolated quantum system. A salient feature of our approach is the very transparent distinction between the statistical aspects and the dynamical aspects in the description of isolated quantum systems. Like in the classical statistical mechanics, the equilibrium distribution of any property is identified on the basis of the time evolution of the considered system. As a consequence equilibrium properties of quantum system appear to depend on the details of the initial state due to the abundance of constants of the motion in the Schrodinger dynamics. On the other hand the study of the probability distributions of some functions, such as the entropy or the equilibrium state of a subsystem, in statistical ensembles of pure states reveals the crucial role of typicality as the bridge between macroscopic thermodynamics and microscopic quantum dynamics. We shall consider two particular ensembles: the random pure state ensemble and the fixed expectation energy ensemble. The relation between the introduced ensembles, the properties of a given isolated system, and the standard quantum statistical description are discussed throughout the presentation. Finally we point out the conditions which should be satisfied by an ensemble in order to get meaningful thermodynamical characterization of an isolated quantum system.
Quantum mechanics is widely recognised as being incomplete. It is not consistent with the second law of thermodynamics and does not provide a scientifically credible physical account of the measurement process, the means by which coherence is broken and classically observable states are recorded. This has led to many ad hoc assumptions being used to account for various properties of quantum systems, among which is the coherence time of quantum devices that determines their ability to perform computations. Here, we show that all these properties can be accommodated naturally and consistently in the context of mixing quantum systems which exhibit continuous spectra, as arises in the thermodynamic limit in quantum statistical mechanics and quantum gravity. In particular, for isolated systems we show that the time-reversal symmetry associated with unitary time evolution of the quantum state gives rise to time-symmetry breaking and a semi-group evolution which attains thermodynamic equilibrium at long times. Moreover, the emergence of this non-unitary time-asymmetry leads to microcanonical equilibrium states in which all quantum coherence is lost and is accompanied by the transformation of pure states into mixtures, leading in turn to an increase in entropy. Inclusion of a macroscopic measurement apparatus shows how the outcome of a measurement corresponds to the von Neumann projection postulate, arising with probabilities in conformance with the Born rule. The mathematical structure of the theory which applies to quantum systems with continuous spectra is closely analogous to the classical ergodic theory of dynamical systems and the conditions under which they attain equilibrium states.
In this paper we address the question of the direction of physical time. In particular we consider the meaning of time reversal for irreversible evolution. The work is based on the theory of Markovian generators in open quantum systems. The motivation and appearance of such evolution is reviewed and its implications for the direction of time are presented. A monotonically changing function, a Lyapunov functional, is demonstrated and the concept of time reversal invariance is introduced. Finally the evolution is shown to follow from an action principle. The method, however, does not single out any forward direction of time, information about the initial state is lost equally in both directions within the formalism.
We propose a new approach concerning the introduction of time-irreversibility in statistical mechanics. It is based on a transition function defined in terms of path integral and verifying a time-irreversible equation. We show first how dynamic processes may enter in the description of equilibrium states. In order to do that a characteristic time is associated with closed paths. For large isolated systems at equilibrium or for systems in contact with a thermostat our results are identical with those obtained with the Gibbs ensemble methods. For a model used in the microscopic approaches of the brownian motion no new basic assumption is required to predict a transition from a quantum state to a classical one exhibiting a time-irreversible behavior. This demonstration is sufficient to show that very well accepted approximations can lead to time-irreversible behaviors for a large class of systems. The difference between our work and the system+reservoir approaches is underlined. Here equilibrium states and irreversible processes are described on the same footing representing a progress in the question of time-irreversibility in statistical physics. The transition function is also used for describing a small system for which there is no thermodynamics. By adding to the transition function a second one characterizing the reverse motion we may describe time-reversible systems. In a simple case we replace two real valued transition functions by a complex function verifying a Schrodinger like equation. From this we see how to break the time-reversibility of this equation and how to investigate the connection quantum mechanics-thermodynamics from a very fundamental point of view.
The time evolution of a class of generalized quantum Ising models (with various long-range interactions, including Dyson's 1/rα) has been studied from the C*-algebraic point of view. We establish that: (1) All 〈A〉t are weakly almost periodic in time; (2) there exists a unique averaging procedure over time; (3) the time evolution in the thermodynamical limit can be locally implemented by effective Hamiltonians in the algebra of quasilocal observables; (4) there exists a specific connection between the spectral properties of the time evolution of the initial state and the approach to equilibrium; (5) there are examples in which the time evolution is not G-Abelian.
In spin systems, the decay of the Loschmidt echo in the time-reversal experiment (evolution-perturbation-time-reversed evolution) is linked to the generation of multiple-quantum (MQ) coherences. Unlimited growth of the MQ coherences leads to irreversibility of dynamics. In some cases, one can expect that the deviation of the Loschmidt echo and the second moment of the MQ intensities distribution are linear in time. The criteria of such behavior, called weak irreversibility, are formulated. The proposed approach can be extended beyond spin systems, in order to analyze some general aspects of reversibility of many-body quantum dynamics.