Geometry of thermodynamic states

DOI10.1016/S0375-9601(98)00385-5zbMATH Open0940.82007arXivquant-ph/9706030OpenAlexW3123079060MaRDI QIDQ1966762FDOQ1966762

Lane P. Hughston, Dorje C. Brody

Publication date: 8 March 2000

Published in: Physics Letters. A (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: A novel geometric formalism for statistical estimation is applied here to the canonical distribution of classical statistical mechanics. In this scheme thermodynamic states, or equivalently, statistical mechanical states, can be characterised concisely in terms of the geometry of a submanifold $calM$ of the unit sphere $calS$ in a real Hilbert space $calH$. The measurement of a thermodynamic variable then corresponds to the reduction of a state vector in $calH$ to an eigenstate, where the transition probability is the Boltzmann weight. We derive a set of uncertainty relations for conjugate thermodynamic variables in the equilibrium thermodynamic states. These follow as a consequence of a striking thermodynamic analogue of the Anandan-Aharonov relations in quantum mechanics. As a result we are able to provide a resolution to the controversy surrounding the status of `temperature fluctuations' in the canonical ensemble. By consideration of the curvature of the thermodynamic trajectory in its state space we are then able to derive a series of higher order variance bounds, which we calculate explicitly to second order.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9706030

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zbMATH Keywords

uncertainty relationscanonical distributionthermodynamic statesgeometric formalism for statistical estimation

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05) Classical equilibrium statistical mechanics (general) (82B05)

Cites Work

• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Geometry of quantum evolution
• Geometry of Quantum Statistical Inference
• Informative geometry of probability spaces
• Postulates for general quantum mechanics
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• Generalised Heisenberg relations for quantum statistical estimation

Cited In (10)

• Geometrization of statistical mechanics
• Thermodynamic geometry, transition between attractive and repulsive interactions and condensation of dual statistics
• Geometric measure theory and the axioms of continuum thermodynamics
• Geometry of basic statistical physics mapping
• Geometrical aspects and connections of the energy–temperature fluctuation relation
• Geometrothermodynamics of black holes
• Geometric quantum mechanics
• On the geometric structure of thermodynamics
• The Geometry of Some Thermodynamic Systems
• Geometrothermodynamic description of real gases using the law of corresponding states

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