The interactions and correlations among the constituents of manybody systems are manifested in characteristic physical properties such as ferromagnetism, superconductivity, etc. A list of some that have been studied in the last century is given in the Box (see below). A parallel development in quantum information was initially slow but over the past two decades progress has been very rapid. Fundamentally this is another aspect of quantum correlations in composite systems arising from the twin features of the superposition principle and the tensor product structure of state space. These features are not utilized in the same manner in quantum many-body physics. In the Box, a corresponding parallel list with properties of many-body systems is given because there has been an interplay between the two research efforts and their understanding. The basic quantum mechanical principles apply to both cases except different aspects are utilized because the goals are different in each. Both areas of investigation are based on a probabilistic foundation with a variational underpinning founded on an “entropy” maximization, which may be called Quantum Statistical Mechanics [1]. The specific form of the entropy as a functional of the density matrix will be made explicit presently. See Table I for definitions of density matrix and associated quantities. The equilibrium properties of the many-body systems are then given by a maximization of von Neumann entropy subject to certain constraints such as the average value of the Hamiltonian of the system “energy”. This leads to the familiar exponential probabilities of the Boltzmann-Gibbs (BG) form. Any nonequilibrium properties are studied by a quantum time evolution equation. Non-equilibrium properties such as the anomalous relaxation in time are often analyzed with the quantum version of the Tsallis entropy with an entropic index, q, which leads to powerlaw probabilities in contrast to the BG type [2]. (See the Box in the Introduction of Tsallis and Boon). In quantum information, the maximum entropy scheme is not of use because its origins are elsewhere as will be made clear presently. The evolution is replaced by processing of information
The interactions and correlations among the constituents of manybody systems are manifested in characteristic physical properties such as ferromagnetism, superconductivity, etc. A list of some that have been studied in the last century is given in the Box (see below). A parallel development in quantum information was initially slow but over the past two decades progress has been very rapid. Fundamentally this is another aspect of quantum correlations in composite systems arising from the twin features of the superposition principle and the tensor product structure of state space. These features are not utilized in the same manner in quantum many-body physics. In the Box, a corresponding parallel list with properties of many-body systems is given because there has been an interplay between the two research efforts and their understanding. The basic quantum mechanical principles apply to both cases except different aspects are utilized because the goals are different in each. Both areas of investigation are based on a probabilistic foundation with a variational underpinning founded on an “entropy” maximization, which may be called Quantum Statistical Mechanics [1]. The specific form of the entropy as a functional of the density matrix will be made explicit presently. See Table I for definitions of density matrix and associated quantities. The equilibrium properties of the many-body systems are then given by a maximization of von Neumann entropy subject to certain constraints such as the average value of the Hamiltonian of the system “energy”. This leads to the familiar exponential probabilities of the Boltzmann-Gibbs (BG) form. Any nonequilibrium properties are studied by a quantum time evolution equation. Non-equilibrium properties such as the anomalous relaxation in time are often analyzed with the quantum version of the Tsallis entropy with an entropic index, q, which leads to powerlaw probabilities in contrast to the BG type [2]. (See the Box in the Introduction of Tsallis and Boon). In quantum information, the maximum entropy scheme is not of use because its origins are elsewhere as will be made clear presently. The evolution is replaced by processing of information
Recently, the possibility of investigating single molecule, or single spin observables, as well as the necessity of a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying quantum dynamics in order to obtain nanoscale devices and nanostructered materials suitable for quantum computing tasks, have revived the interest in foundational aspects of quantum statistical mechanics. This thesis aims to give a contribution to this field by re-considering the statistical characterization of a quantum system at the light of some paradigmatic changes in our understanding of quantum theory which have taken place in the last two decades. In particular the impressive development of quantum information theory has changed the perceptions of quantum entanglement: for a long time it has been considered a somewhat paradoxical property of the matter at the atomic scale, but now it is regarded as an essential and ubiquitous phenomenon whose consequences are affecting the very macroscopic world that we experience. Still the decoherence program has brought out the importance of considering a quantum system together with its environment in order to clarify some key aspects of quantum dynamics. Thus, we start from the idea that quantum correlations are ubiquitous and somewhat uncontrollable in systems with many degrees of freedom which are typically considered in statistical mechanics. As a consequence we assume the standpoint that quantum statistical mechanics has not to be based on the underlying idea of a collection of many, independent quantum systems but rather it has to emerge at the level of a global wavefunction (pure state) which describes the system as well as its environment as a whole. In order to investigate the consequences of these assumptions we study the equilibrium distribution of an isolated quantum system. This is defined, in analogy with the ergodic foundations of classical statistical mechanics, on the basis of the time evolution of the quantum state. Then, we study the emergence of thermodynamic properties in a quantum system by studying the probability distribution of some function of interests, as the entropy and the equilibrium state of a subsystem, on Ensembles of Pure States. Such a probability distribution is derived from the geometry of the Hilbert space, and the theoretical tools suitable for its characterization are developed. On the one hand we perform a numerical sampling of the ensemble distributions by employing Monte Carlo techniques, on the other hand simpler analytical approximation of the geometrical distributions are derived by means of a maximum entropy principle. Model systems composed of an ensemble of spins are chosen to illustrate the salient features which emerge from the developed theoretical framework: the main point is that the Ensemble Distributions of “thermodynamic observables” (entropy or equilibrium state of a subsystem) are sharply peaked around a typical value. From the analysis it emerges that each of the overwhelming majority of the wavefunctions which has appreciable weight in the considered ensemble, is characterized by the same value of the “macroscopic” functions. This is a striking evidence of the “typicality” of these properties. In the essence, our impossibility to know the state of the system in detail does not matter, just for the remarkable fact that almost all quantum states behave essentially in the same way. By virtue of this typicality the study of the behaviour of the typical values of the thermodynamic function become meaningful. Notably, under certain conditions, one recovers the results of standard statistical mechanics, that is, the equilibrium average of the state of a subsystem can be cast in the Boltzmann canonical form at the temperature given by the usual thermodynamical relation . In the second part of the thesis we consider the dynamical aspects of the equilibrium state of a subsystem interacting with its environment. The fluctuations around the equilibrium average critically depends on the entanglement between the system and the environment and on the form of the interaction Hamiltonian. The connection between the dynamics of the fluctuations of an observable at the equilibrium and the relaxation toward the equilibrium from a “non typical” initial value is also investigated with the aid of simple model systems. The study presented in this thesis was partly motivated by a critical analysis of the statistical methods available for the theoretical modelling of magnetic resonance experiments. One of these, the Stochastic Liouville Equation, has been employed in a work completed during the first year of my Ph.D. program in order to interpret some feature of a two dimensional electron spin resonance experiment, [Fresch B., Frezzato D., Moro G. J., Kothe G., Freed J. H.; J. Phys. Chem. B., 110, 24238, (2006)].
Nonadditive classical information theory is developed in the axiomatic framework and then translated into quantum theory. The nonadditive conditional entropy associated with the Tsallis entropy indexed by q is given in accordance with the formalism of nonextensive statistical mechanics. The theory is applied to the problems of quantum entanglement and separability of the Werner-Popescu-type mixed state of a multipartite system, in order to examine if it has any points superior to the additive theory with the von Neumann entropy realized in the limit q → 1. It is shown that the nonadditive theory can lead to the necessary and sufficient condition for separability of the Werner-Popescu-type state, whereas the von Neumann theory can give only a much weaker condition…. Tsallis' nonextensive generalization of Boltzmann-Gibbs statistical mechanics [3, 15, 16] and its success in describing behaviors of a large class of complex systems naturally lead to the question of whether information theory can also admit an analogous generalization. If the answer is affirmative, then that will be of particular importance in connection with the problem of quantum entanglement and quantum theory of measurement [6, 8], in which necessities of a nonadditive information measure and an information content are suggested. One should also remember that there exists a conceptual similarity between a complex system and an entangled quantum system. In these systems, a "part" is indivisibly connected with the rest. An external operation on any part drastically influences the whole system, in general. Thus, the traditional reductionistic approach to an understanding of the nature of such a system may not work efficiently. In this chapter, we report a recent development in nonadditive quantum information theory based on the Tsallis entropy indexed by q [15] and its associated nonadditive conditional entropy [1]. This theory includes the ordinary additive theory with the von Neumann entropy in a special limiting case: q → To see if it has points superior to the additive theory, we apply it to the problems of separability and quantum entanglement.
Entropy in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics is investigated theoretically so as to extend the well-established equilibrium framework to open nonequilibrium systems. We first derive a microscopic expression of nonequilibrium entropy for an assembly of identical bosons/fermions interacting via a two-body potential. This is performed by starting from the Dyson equation on the Keldysh contour and following closely the procedure of Ivanov, Knoll and Voskresensky [Nucl. Phys. A {\bf 672} (2000) 313]. The obtained expression is identical in form with an exact expression of equilibrium entropy and obeys an equation of motion which satisfies the H-theorem in a limiting case. Thus, entropy can be defined unambiguously in nonequilibrium systems so as to embrace equilibrium statistical mechanics. This expression, however, differs from the one obtained by Ivanov {\em et al}., and we show explicitly that their ``memory corrections'' are not necessary. Based on our expression of nonequilibrium entropy, we then propose the following principle of maximum entropy for nonequilibrium steady states: ``The state which is realized most probably among possible steady states without time evolution is the one that makes entropy maximum as a function of mechanical variables, such as the total particle number, energy, momentum, energy flux, etc.'' During the course of the study, we also develop a compact real-time perturbation expansion in terms of the matrix Keldysh Green's function.
In thermodynamics and statistical mechanics entropy is the fundamental physical quantity to describe the evolution of a statistical ensemble. Its microscopic definition was provided by Boltzmann through the celebrated expression S = kB ln Γ, where kB is the Boltzmann constant and Γ is the number of microstates exploiting the given macroscopic properties. In this context, it is well known that in classical mechanics the entropy: i) allows the violation of the uncertainty principle [1], [2]; ii) can be considered as a special case of the so-called Boltzmann-Gibbs-Shannon entropy that enables one to apply results of information theory to physics [1], [3]. In particular, by introducing the principle of maximum entropy (MEP) it was found possible to derive rigorous hydrodynamic (HD) models based on the moments of the distribution function to all orders of a power expansion and including appropriate closure conditions [4], [5]. Accordingly, making use of the Lagrange multipliers technique, it was found possible to construct the set of evolution equations for the macro-variables of interest. Apart from some partial attempts [3], [6], this is no longer the case in quantum mechanics. Here, the main difficulties concern with: i) the definition of a proper quantum entropy that includes particle indistinguishability; ii) the formulation of a global quantum MEP (QMEP) that allows one to obtain a quantum distribution function both for thermodynamic equilibrium and nonequilibrium configurations. From one hand, in the framework of a nonlocal quantum theory, the generalization of the corresponding Lagrange multipliers is also an open problem. Fron another hand, a rigorous formulation of quantum HD (QHD) closed models is a demanding issue for many kinds of problems in quantum systems like, interacting fermionic and bosonic gases, quantum turbulence, quantum fluids, quantized vortices, nuclear physics, confined carrier transport in semiconductor heterostrucures, phonon and electron transport in nanostructures, nanowires and thin layers. The aim of this talk is to address the above drawbacks by defining a quantum entropy in terms of the reduced density matrix, thus explicitly incorporating quantum statistics into problems involving a system of identical particles. As a further step, with respect to the uncertainty principle, starting from the Wigner representation we formulate a quantum maximum entropy principle which, in the framework of information theory, allows us to obtain a non-local theory for the system under study. As a final step, we determine a closed quantum hydrodynamic model for the macroscopic variables used as constraints in the QMEP approach.
During recent years the interest to dynamics of quantum systems has grown considerably. Quantum many body systems out of equilibrium often manifest behavior, different from the one predicted by standard statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in equilibrium. Since the dynamics of a many body quantum system typically involve many excited eigenstates, with a non-thermal distribution, the time evolution of such a system provides an unique way for investigation of non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics. Last decade such new subjects like quantum quenches, thermalization, pre-thermalization, equilibration, generalized Gibbs ensemble, etc. are among the most attractive topics of investigation in modern quantum physics. One of the most interesting themes in the study of dynamics of quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium is connected with the recently proposed important concept of dynamical quantum phase transitions. During the last few years a great progress has been achieved in studying of those singularities in the time dependence of characteristics of quantum mechanical systems, in particular, in understanding how the quantum critical points of equilibrium thermodynamics affect their dynamical properties. Dynamical quantum phase transitions reveal universality, scaling, connection to the topology, and many other interesting features. Here we review the recent achievements of this quickly developing part of low temperature quantum physics. The study of dynamical quantum phase transitions is especially important in context of their connection to the problem of the modern theory of quantum information, where namely non-equilibrium dynamics of many-body quantum system plays the major role.
During recent years the interest to dynamics of quantum systems has grown considerably. Quantum many body systems out of equilibrium often manifest behavior, different from the one predicted by standard statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in equilibrium. Since the dynamics of a many-body quantum system typically involve many excited eigenstates, with a non-thermal distribution, the time evolution of such a system provides an unique way for investigation of non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics. Last decade such new subjects like quantum quenches, thermalization, pre-thermalization, equilibration, generalized Gibbs ensemble, etc. are among the most attractive topics of investigation in modern quantum physics. One of the most interesting themes in the study of dynamics of quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium is connected with the recently proposed important concept of dynamical quantum phase transitions. During the last few years a great progress has been achieved in studying of those singularities in the time dependence of characteristics of quantum mechanical systems, in particular, in understanding how the quantum critical points of equilibrium thermodynamics affect their dynamical properties. Dynamical quantum phase transitions reveal universality, scaling, connection to the topology, and many other interesting features. Here we review the recent achievements of this quickly developing part of low-temperature quantum physics. The study of dynamical quantum phase transitions is especially important in context of their connection to the problem of the modern theory of quantum information, where namely non-equilibrium dynamics of many-body quantum system plays the major role.