The approach to thermal equilibrium and "thermodynamic normality" --- An observation based on the works by Goldstein, Lebowitz, Mastrodonato, Tumulka, and Zanghi in 2009, and by von Neumann in 1929

Details The approach to thermal equilibrium and "thermodynamic normality" --- An observation based on the works by Goldstein, Lebowitz, Mastrodonato, Tumulka, and Zanghi in 2009, and by von Neumann in 1929 The approach to thermal equilibrium and "thermodynamic normality" --- An observation based on the works by Goldstein, Lebowitz, Mastrodonato, Tumulka, and Zanghi in 2009, and by von Neumann in 1929

2010-03-29

arxiv.org/abs/1003.5424v4

Physics

Quantum Physics

27 pages, 2 figures. The version 3 is a major revision (even the title has been changed). A new example has been added. We now

Scientific paper

We treat the problem of the approach to thermal equilibrium by only resorting to quantum dynamics of an isolated macroscopic system. Inspired by the two important works in 2009 and in 1929, we have noted that a condition we call "thermodynamic normality" for a macroscopic observable guarantees the approach to equilibrium (in the sense that a measurement of the observable at time $t$ almost certainly yields a result close to the corresponding microcanonical average for a sufficiently long and typical $t$). A crucial point is that we make no assumptions on the initial state of the system, except that its energy is distributed close to a certain macroscopic value. We also present three (rather artificial) models in which the thermodynamic normality can be established, thus providing concrete examples in which the approach to equilibrium is rigorously justified. Note that this kind of results which hold for ANY initial state are never possible in classical systems. We are thus dealing with a mechanism which is peculiar to quantum systems. The present note is written in a self-contained (and hopefully readable) manner. It only requires basic knowledge in quantum physics and equilibrium statistical mechanics.

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