Thermodynamics of quantum heat bath

Brody, Dorje C. and Hughston, Lane P (2016) Thermodynamics of quantum heat bath Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 49 (42).

Text Brody_2016_J._Phys._A%3A_Math._Theor._49_425302.pdf - Version of Record Restricted to Repository staff only Download (657kB)

Abstract

A model for the thermodynamics of a quantum heat bath is introduced. Under the assumption that the bath molecules have finitely many degrees of freedom and are weakly interacting, we present a general derivation of the equation of state of the bath in the thermodynamic limit. The relation between the temperature and the specific energy of the bath depends on (i) the spectral properties of the molecules, and (ii) the choice of probability measure on the state space of a representative molecule. The results obtained illustrate how the microscopic features of the molecular constituents determine the macroscopic thermodynamic properties of the bath. Our findings can thus be used to compare the merits of different hypotheses for the equilibrium states of quantum systems. Two examples of plausible choices for the probability measure are considered in detail.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions :	Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences > Mathematics
Authors :	Name Email ORCID Brody, Dorje C. d.brody@surrey.ac.uk Hughston, Lane P
Date :	28 September 2016
DOI :	10.1088/1751-8113/49/42/425302
Copyright Disclaimer :	© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd
Uncontrolled Keywords :	Statistical mechanics; Thermodynamics; Large deviations; Quantum mechanics; Condensed matter; Heat bath
Depositing User :	Claudio Svaluto
Date Deposited :	11 Oct 2018 09:10
Last Modified :	11 Oct 2018 09:10
URI:	http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/id/eprint/849325

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