Classical analogue of the statistical operator
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Date
Authors
Plastino, Angelo
Plastino, Angel Ricardo (Angelo)
Zander, Claudia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
We advance the notion of a classical density matrix, as a classical analogue of the quantum mechanical
statistical operator, and investigate its main properties. In the case of composite systems a partial trace-like
operation performed upon the global classical density matrix leads to a marginal density matrix describing
a subsystem. In the case of dynamically independent subsystems (that is, non-interacting subsystems) this
marginal density matrix evolves locally, its behavior being completely determined by the local phase-space
flow associated with the subsystem under consideration. However, and in contrast with the case of ordinary
marginal probability densities, the marginal classical density matrix contains information concerning the
statistical correlations between a subsystem and the rest of the system.
Description
Keywords
Statistical operator, Liouville dynamics, Physics of information
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Plastino, A, Plastino, AR & Zander, C 2014, 'Classical analogue of the statistical operator', Central European Journal of Physics, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 168–174.