Issue |
EPL
Volume 89, Number 4, February 2010
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 40012 | |
Number of page(s) | 5 | |
Section | General | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/89/40012 | |
Published online | 11 March 2010 |
Emergence of irreversibility in embedded quantum systems
Institute of Theoretical Physics I, University of Stuttgart - Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany, EU
Received:
6
October
2009
Accepted:
12
February
2010
We investigate irreversibility in a quantum system subject to unitary dynamics as it results from perturbations of the respective Hamiltonian and from the partitioning of the system into subsystems. We use the quantum fidelity as a distance measure of two states. For the whole system, a perturbation induces instability, but no preferred direction in time. We show that an arrow of time, which is an essential feature of irreversibility, shows up only when focusing on a small enough subsystem. This approach is exemplified by a numerical simulation of a finite spin network, for which we see how irreversibility emerges locally from an appropriate partitioning.
PACS: 05.30.-d – Quantum statistical mechanics / 05.70.Ln – Nonequilibrium and irreversible thermodynamics
© EPLA, 2010
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.