The Boltzmann distribution and the quantum-classical correspondence

DOI10.1088/1751-8121/AACF77zbMATH Open1400.82087arXiv1710.06051OpenAlexW3106482588WikidataQ129617357 ScholiaQ129617357MaRDI QIDQ4689503FDOQ4689503

Authors: Sam Alterman, Jae Ho Choi, Rebecca Durst, Sarah M. Fleming, William K. Wootters 

Publication date: 16 October 2018

Published in: Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: In this paper we explore the following question: can the probabilities constituting the quantum Boltzmann distribution, $P_n^{B}propto{e}^{-E_n/kT}$, be derived from a requirement that the quantum configuration-space distribution for a system in thermal equilibrium be very similar to the corresponding classical distribution? It is certainly to be expected that the quantum distribution in configuration space will approach the classical distribution as the temperature approaches infinity, and a well-known equation derived from the Boltzmann distribution shows that this is generically the case. Here we ask whether one can reason in the opposite direction, that is, from quantum-classical agreement to the Boltzmann probabilities. For two of the simple examples we consider---a particle in a one-dimensional box and a simple harmonic oscillator---this approach leads to probability distributions that provably approach the Boltzmann probabilities at high temperature, in the sense that the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the distributions approaches zero.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.06051

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zbMATH Keywords

canonical ensemblecorrespondence principlequantum position distribution

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Boltzmann equations (35Q20) Semiclassical techniques, including WKB and Maslov methods applied to problems in quantum theory (81Q20) Statistical thermodynamics (82B30)

Cites Work

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Cited In (7)

• Born's formula from statistical mechanics of classical fields and theory of hitting times
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• From Quantum Dynamics to the Canonical Distribution: General Picture and a Rigorous Example
• Bhattacharyya statistical divergence of quantum observables
• The Boltzmann factor: a simplified derivation
• A Maxwellian path to the \(q\)-nonextensive velocity distribution function
• Maxwellian distribution in non-classical regime

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