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Classical analogue of the statistical operator

  • Research Article
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Central European Journal of Physics

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Nacional de La Plata UNLP-CONICET, C.C. 727, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    Angelo Plastino

  2. CeBio y Secretaria de Investigacion, Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Prov. de Buenos Aires — UNNOBA and CONICET, R. Saenz Peña 456, Junin, Argentina

    Angel R. Plastino

  3. Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain

    Angel R. Plastino

  4. Physics Department, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    Claudia Zander

Authors
  1. Angelo Plastino
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  2. Angel R. Plastino
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  3. Claudia Zander
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Correspondence to Angelo Plastino.

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Plastino, A., Plastino, A.R. & Zander, C. Classical analogue of the statistical operator. centr.eur.j.phys. 12, 168–174 (2014). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11534-014-0438-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11534-014-0438-y

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