Quantum Mechanics and Its Emergent Macrophysics

Quantum Mechanics and Its Emergent Macrophysics
Author: Geoffrey Sewell
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2020-11-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691221278

The quantum theory of macroscopic systems is a vast, ever-developing area of science that serves to relate the properties of complex physical objects to those of their constituent particles. Its essential challenge is that of finding the conceptual structures needed for the description of the various states of organization of many-particle quantum systems. In this book, Geoffrey Sewell provides a new approach to the subject, based on a "macrostatistical mechanics," which contrasts sharply with the standard microscopic treatments of many-body problems. Sewell begins by presenting the operator algebraic framework for the theory. He then undertakes a macrostatistical treatment of both equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics, which yields a major new characterization of a complete set of thermodynamic variables and a nonlinear generalization of the Onsager theory. The remainder of the book focuses on ordered and chaotic structures that arise in some key areas of condensed matter physics. This includes a general derivation of superconductive electrodynamics from the assumptions of off-diagonal long-range order, gauge covariance, and thermodynamic stability, which avoids the enormous complications of the microscopic treatments. Sewell also unveils a theoretical framework for phase transitions far from thermal equilibrium. Throughout, the mathematics is kept clear without sacrificing rigor. Representing a coherent approach to the vast problem of the emergence of macroscopic phenomena from quantum mechanics, this well-written book is addressed to physicists, mathematicians, and other scientists interested in quantum theory, statistical physics, thermodynamics, and general questions of order and chaos.

Quantum Mechanics and Its Emergent Macrophysics

Quantum Mechanics and Its Emergent Macrophysics
Author: Geoffrey Sewell
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2002-08-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691058326

The quantum theory of macroscopic systems is a vast, ever-developing area of science that serves to relate the properties of complex physical objects to those of their constituent particles. Its essential challenge is that of finding the conceptual structures needed for the description of the various states of organization of many-particle quantum systems. In this book, Geoffrey Sewell provides a new approach to the subject, based on a "macrostatistical mechanics," which contrasts sharply with the standard microscopic treatments of many-body problems. Sewell begins by presenting the operator algebraic framework for the theory. He then undertakes a macrostatistical treatment of both equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics, which yields a major new characterization of a complete set of thermodynamic variables and a nonlinear generalization of the Onsager theory. The remainder of the book focuses on ordered and chaotic structures that arise in some key areas of condensed matter physics. This includes a general derivation of superconductive electrodynamics from the assumptions of off-diagonal long-range order, gauge covariance, and thermodynamic stability, which avoids the enormous complications of the microscopic treatments. Sewell also unveils a theoretical framework for phase transitions far from thermal equilibrium. Throughout, the mathematics is kept clear without sacrificing rigor. Representing a coherent approach to the vast problem of the emergence of macroscopic phenomena from quantum mechanics, this well-written book is addressed to physicists, mathematicians, and other scientists interested in quantum theory, statistical physics, thermodynamics, and general questions of order and chaos.

Statistical Mechanics And The Physics Of Many-particle Model Systems

Statistical Mechanics And The Physics Of Many-particle Model Systems
Author: Alexander Leonidovich Kuzemsky
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 1259
Release: 2017-02-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 981314565X

The book is devoted to the study of the correlation effects in many-particle systems. It presents the advanced methods of quantum statistical mechanics (equilibrium and nonequilibrium), and shows their effectiveness and operational ability in applications to problems of quantum solid-state theory, quantum theory of magnetism and the kinetic theory. The book includes description of the fundamental concepts and techniques of analysis following the approach of N N Bogoliubov's school, including recent developments. It provides an overview that introduces the main notions of quantum many-particle physics with the emphasis on concepts and models.This book combines the features of textbook and research monograph. For many topics the aim is to start from the beginning and to guide the reader to the threshold of advanced researches. Many chapters include also additional information and discuss many complex research areas which are not often discussed in other places. The book is useful for established researchers to organize and present the advanced material disseminated in the literature. The book contains also an extensive bibliography.The book serves undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers who have had prior experience with the subject matter at a more elementary level or have used other many-particle techniques.

Foundations of Quantum Theory

Foundations of Quantum Theory
Author: Klaas Landsman
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 881
Release: 2017-05-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319517775

This book studies the foundations of quantum theory through its relationship to classical physics. This idea goes back to the Copenhagen Interpretation (in the original version due to Bohr and Heisenberg), which the author relates to the mathematical formalism of operator algebras originally created by von Neumann. The book therefore includes comprehensive appendices on functional analysis and C*-algebras, as well as a briefer one on logic, category theory, and topos theory. Matters of foundational as well as mathematical interest that are covered in detail include symmetry (and its "spontaneous" breaking), the measurement problem, the Kochen-Specker, Free Will, and Bell Theorems, the Kadison-Singer conjecture, quantization, indistinguishable particles, the quantum theory of large systems, and quantum logic, the latter in connection with the topos approach to quantum theory. This book is Open Access under a CC BY licence.

Compendium of Quantum Physics

Compendium of Quantum Physics
Author: Daniel Greenberger
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 901
Release: 2009-07-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540706267

With contributions by leading quantum physicists, philosophers and historians, this comprehensive A-to-Z of quantum physics provides a lucid understanding of key concepts of quantum theory and experiment. It covers technical and interpretational aspects alike, and includes both traditional and new concepts, making it an indispensable resource for concise, up-to-date information about the many facets of quantum physics.

From Micro to Macro Quantum Systems

From Micro to Macro Quantum Systems
Author: K. Kong Wan
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 712
Release: 2006
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1860946259

Traditional quantum theory has a very rigid structure, making it difficult to accommodate new properties emerging from novel systems. This book presents a flexible and unified theory for physical systems, from micro and macro quantum to classical. This is achieved by incorporating superselection rules and maximal symmetric operators into the theory. The resulting theory is applicable to classical, microscopic quantum and non-orthodox mixed quantum systems of which macroscopic quantum systems are examples. A unified formalism also greatly facilitates the discussion of interactions between these systems. A scheme of quantization by parts is introduced, based on the mathematics of selfadjoint and maximal symmetric extensions of symmetric operators, to describe point interactions. The results are applied to treat superconducting quantum circuits in various configurations.This book also discusses various topics of interest such as the asymptotic treatment of quantum state preparation and quantum measurement, local observables and local values, Schr”dinger's cat states in superconducting systems, and a path space formulation of quantum mechanics.This self-contained book is complete with a review of relevant geometric and operator theories, for example, vector fields and operators, symmetric operators and their maximal symmetric extensions, direct integrals of Hilbert spaces and operators.

Quantum Physics

Quantum Physics
Author: Vladimir Zelevinsky
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 618
Release: 2010-12-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3527409793

This two-volume set can be naturally divided into two semester courses, and contains a full modern graduate course in quantum physics. The idea is to teach graduate students how to practically use quantum physics and theory, presenting the fundamental knowledge, and gradually moving on to applications, including atomic, nuclear and solid state physics, as well as modern subfields, such as quantum chaos and quantum entanglement. The book starts with basic quantum problems, which do not require full quantum formalism but allow the student to gain the necessary experience and elements of quantum thinking. Only then does the fundamental Schrodinger equation appear. The author has included topics that are not usually covered in standard textbooks and has written the book in such a way that every topic contains varying layers of difficulty, so that the instructor can decide where to stop. Although supplementary sources are not required, "Further reading" is given for each chapter, including references to scientific journals and publications, and a glossary is also provided. Problems and solutions are integrated throughout the text.

Causality, Measurement Theory and the Differentiable Structure of Space-Time

Causality, Measurement Theory and the Differentiable Structure of Space-Time
Author: R. N. Sen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 413
Release: 2010-02-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1139485377

Introducing graduate students and researchers to mathematical physics, this book discusses two recent developments: the demonstration that causality can be defined on discrete space-times; and Sewell's measurement theory, in which the wave packet is reduced without recourse to the observer's conscious ego, nonlinearities or interaction with the rest of the universe. The definition of causality on a discrete space-time assumes that space-time is made up of geometrical points. Using Sewell's measurement theory, the author concludes that the notion of geometrical points is as meaningful in quantum mechanics as it is in classical mechanics, and that it is impossible to tell whether the differential calculus is a discovery or an invention. Providing a mathematical discourse on the relation between theoretical and experimental physics, the book gives detailed accounts of the mathematically difficult measurement theories of von Neumann and Sewell.

Einstein’s Struggles with Quantum Theory

Einstein’s Struggles with Quantum Theory
Author: Dipankar Home
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2007-11-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0387715207

This book presents an account of all aspects of Einstein’s achievements in quantum theory, his own views, and the progress his work has stimulated since his death. While some chapters use mathematics at an undergraduate physics level, a path is provided for the reader more concerned with ideas than equations, and the book will benefit to anybody interested in Einstein and his approach to the quantum.

The Statistical Mechanics of Quantum Lattice Systems

The Statistical Mechanics of Quantum Lattice Systems
Author:
Publisher: European Mathematical Society
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2009
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9783037190708

Quantum statistical mechanics plays a major role in many fields such as thermodynamics, plasma physics, solid-state physics, and the study of stellar structure. While the theory of quantum harmonic oscillators is relatively simple, the case of anharmonic oscillators, a mathematical model of a localized quantum particle, is more complex and challenging. Moreover, infinite systems of interacting quantum anharmonic oscillators possess interesting ordering properties with respect to quantum stabilization. This book presents a rigorous approach to the statistical mechanics of such systems, in particular with respect to their actions on a crystal lattice. The text is addressed to both mathematicians and physicists, especially those who are concerned with the rigorous mathematical background of their results and the kind of problems that arise in quantum statistical mechanics. The reader will find here a concise collection of facts, concepts, and tools relevant for the application of path integrals and other methods based on measure and integration theory to problems of quantum physics, in particular the latest results in the mathematical theory of quantum anharmonic crystals. The methods developed in the book are also applicable to other problems involving infinitely many variables, for example, in biology and economics.