The Basis of the Second Law of Thermodynamics in Quantum Field Theory
arXiv:1112.3009 · doi:10.1016/j.aop.2011.12.016
Abstract
The result that closed systems evolve toward equilibrium is derived entirely on the basis of quantum field theory for a model system, without invoking any of the common extra-mathematical notions of particle trajectories, collapse of the wave function, measurement, or intrinsically stochastic processes. The equivalent of the Stosszahlansatz of classical statistical mechanics is found, and has important differences from the classical version. A novel result of the calculation is that interacting many-body systems in the infinite volume limit evolve toward diagonal states (states with loss of all phase information) on the the time scale of the interaction time. The connection with the onset of off-diagonal phase coherence in Bose condensates is discussed.
arXiv comment30 pages, 2 figures
References in corpus (15)
- Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum origins of the classical
- Concentrating Partial Entanglement by Local Operations
- Area laws for the entanglement entropy - a review
- Canonical Typicality
- Conversion of an Atomic Fermi Gas to a Long-Lived Molecular Bose Gas
- Measurement of positive and negative scattering lengths in a Fermi gas of atoms
- Radio-Frequency Spectroscopy of Ultracold Fermions
- Microscopic diagonal entropy and its connection to basic thermodynamic relations
- Entropy of isolated quantum systems after a quench
- On the Approach to Thermal Equilibrium of Macroscopic Quantum Systems
- Quasiclassical Coarse Graining and Thermodynamic Entropy
- Generating Unexpected Spin Echoes in Dipolar Solids with Pi Pulses
- The Intrinsic Origin of Spin Echoes in Dipolar Solids Generated by Strong Pi Pulses
- The Quantum Boltzmann Equation in Semiconductor Physics
- Controlling coherence using the internal structure of hard pi pulses
Cited by in corpus (13)
- Ultrafast collinear scattering and carrier multiplication in graphene
- Non-equilibrium dynamics of photo-excited electrons in graphene: collinear scattering, Auger processes, and the impact of screening
- Dynamics of Phase Coherence Onset in Bose Condensates of Photons by Incoherent Phonon Emission
- Quantum kinetics of spinning neutral particles: General theory and Spin wave dispersion
- Entropy for Quantum Pure States and Its Dynamical Relaxation
- Transition from propagating polariton solitons to a standing wave condensate induced by interactions
- Theory of Non-equilibrium "Hot" Carriers in Direct Band-gap Semiconductors Under Continuous Illumination
- Multi-Time Measurements in Hawking Radiation: Information at Higher-Order Correlations
- Microscopic Irreversibility and the H Theorem
- Transport equations for driven many-body systems
- Proof of quantum mechanical H-theorem beyond binary collisions in quantum gases
- Re-examining Einstein's coefficient and rate equations with the Rabi model
- Quantum particles passing through a matter-wave aperture