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Unitarity
In quantum physics, unitarity is the condition that the time evolution of a quantum state according to the Schrödinger equation is mathematically represented by a unitary operator. This is typically taken as an axiom or basic postulate of quantum mechanics, while generalizations of or departures from unitarity are part of speculations about theories that may go beyond quantum mechanics. A unitarity bound is any inequality that follows from the unitarity of the evolution operator, i.e. from the statement that time evolution preserves inner products in Hilbert space. Hamiltonian evolution Time evolution described by a time-independent Hamiltonian is represented by a one-parameter family of unitary operators, for which the Hamiltonian is a generator: U(t) = e^. In the Schrödinger picture, the unitary operators are taken to act upon the system's quantum state, whereas in the Heisenberg picture, the time dependence is incorporated into the observables instead. Implications of unit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
S-matrix
In physics, the ''S''-matrix or scattering matrix relates the initial state and the final state of a physical system undergoing a scattering process. It is used in quantum mechanics, scattering theory and quantum field theory (QFT). More formally, in the context of QFT, the ''S''-matrix is defined as the unitary matrix connecting sets of asymptotically free particle states (the ''in-states'' and the ''out-states'') in the Hilbert space of physical states. A multi-particle state is said to be ''free'' (non-interacting) if it transforms under Lorentz transformations as a tensor product, or ''direct product'' in physics parlance, of ''one-particle states'' as prescribed by equation below. ''Asymptotically free'' then means that the state has this appearance in either the distant past or the distant future. While the ''S''-matrix may be defined for any background (spacetime) that is asymptotically solvable and has no event horizons, it has a simple form in the case of the Minkowsk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faddeev–Popov Ghost
In physics, Faddeev–Popov ghosts (also called Faddeev–Popov gauge ghosts or Faddeev–Popov ghost fields) are extraneous fields which are introduced into gauge quantum field theories to maintain the consistency of the path integral formulation. They are named after Ludvig Faddeev and Victor Popov. A more general meaning of the word 'ghost' in theoretical physics is discussed in Ghost (physics). Overcounting in Feynman path integrals The necessity for Faddeev–Popov ghosts follows from the requirement that quantum field theories yield unambiguous, non-singular solutions. This is not possible in the path integral formulation when a gauge symmetry is present since there is no procedure for selecting among physically equivalent solutions related by gauge transformation. The path integrals overcount field configurations corresponding to the same physical state; the measure of the path integrals contains a factor which does not allow obtaining various results directly from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Born Rule
The Born rule (also called Born's rule) is a key postulate of quantum mechanics which gives the probability that a measurement of a quantum system will yield a given result. In its simplest form, it states that the probability density of finding a system in a given state, when measured, is proportional to the square of the amplitude of the system's wavefunction at that state. It was formulated by German physicist Max Born in 1926. Details The Born rule states that if an observable corresponding to a self-adjoint operator A with discrete spectrum is measured in a system with normalized wave function , \psi\rang (see Bra–ket notation), then: * the measured result will be one of the eigenvalues \lambda of A, and * the probability of measuring a given eigenvalue \lambda_i will equal \lang\psi, P_i, \psi\rang, where P_i is the projection onto the eigenspace of A corresponding to \lambda_i. : (In the case where the eigenspace of A corresponding to \lambda_i is one-dimensional and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schrödinger Equation
The Schrödinger equation is a linear partial differential equation that governs the wave function of a quantum-mechanical system. It is a key result in quantum mechanics, and its discovery was a significant landmark in the development of the subject. The equation is named after Erwin Schrödinger, who postulated the equation in 1925, and published it in 1926, forming the basis for the work that resulted in his Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933. Conceptually, the Schrödinger equation is the quantum counterpart of Newton's second law in classical mechanics. Given a set of known initial conditions, Newton's second law makes a mathematical prediction as to what path a given physical system will take over time. The Schrödinger equation gives the evolution over time of a wave function, the quantum-mechanical characterization of an isolated physical system. The equation can be derived from the fact that the time-evolution operator must be unitary, and must therefore be generated by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unitary Operator
In functional analysis, a unitary operator is a surjective bounded operator on a Hilbert space that preserves the inner product. Unitary operators are usually taken as operating ''on'' a Hilbert space, but the same notion serves to define the concept of isomorphism ''between'' Hilbert spaces. A unitary element is a generalization of a unitary operator. In a unital algebra, an element of the algebra is called a unitary element if , where is the identity element. Definition Definition 1. A ''unitary operator'' is a bounded linear operator on a Hilbert space that satisfies , where is the adjoint of , and is the identity operator. The weaker condition defines an ''isometry''. The other condition, , defines a ''coisometry''. Thus a unitary operator is a bounded linear operator which is both an isometry and a coisometry, or, equivalently, a surjective isometry. An equivalent definition is the following: Definition 2. A ''unitary operator'' is a bounded linear operator on a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schrödinger Picture
In physics, the Schrödinger picture is a formulation of quantum mechanics in which the state vectors evolve in time, but the operators (observables and others) are mostly constant with respect to time (an exception is the Hamiltonian which may change if the potential V changes). This differs from the Heisenberg picture which keeps the states constant while the observables evolve in time, and from the interaction picture in which both the states and the observables evolve in time. The Schrödinger and Heisenberg pictures are related as active and passive transformations and commutation relations between operators are preserved in the passage between the two pictures. In the Schrödinger picture, the state of a system evolves with time. The evolution for a closed quantum system is brought about by a unitary operator, the time evolution operator. For time evolution from a state vector , \psi(t_0)\rangle at time 0 to a state vector , \psi(t)\rangle at time , the time-evolution ope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Physics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science. Classical physics, the collection of theories that existed before the advent of quantum mechanics, describes many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic) scale, but is not sufficient for describing them at small (atomic and subatomic) scales. Most theories in classical physics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation valid at large (macroscopic) scale. Quantum mechanics differs from classical physics in that energy, momentum, angular momentum, and other quantities of a bound system are restricted to discrete values ( quantization); objects have characteristics of both particles and waves (wave–particle duality); and there are limits to ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stone's Theorem On One-parameter Unitary Groups
In mathematics, Stone's theorem on one-parameter unitary groups is a basic theorem of functional analysis that establishes a one-to-one correspondence between self-adjoint operators on a Hilbert space \mathcal and one-parameter families :(U_)_ of unitary operators that are strongly continuous, i.e., :\forall t_0 \in \R, \psi \in \mathcal: \qquad \lim_ U_t(\psi) = U_(\psi), and are homomorphisms, i.e., :\forall s,t \in \R : \qquad U_ = U_t U_s. Such one-parameter families are ordinarily referred to as strongly continuous one-parameter unitary groups. The theorem was proved by , and showed that the requirement that (U_t)_ be strongly continuous can be relaxed to say that it is merely weakly measurable, at least when the Hilbert space is separable. This is an impressive result, as it allows one to define the derivative of the mapping t \mapsto U_t, which is only supposed to be continuous. It is also related to the theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras. Formal statem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Channel
In quantum information theory, a quantum channel is a communication channel which can transmit quantum information, as well as classical information. An example of quantum information is the state of a qubit. An example of classical information is a text document transmitted over the Internet. More formally, quantum channels are completely positive (CP) trace-preserving maps between spaces of operators. In other words, a quantum channel is just a quantum operation viewed not merely as the reduced dynamics of a system but as a pipeline intended to carry quantum information. (Some authors use the term "quantum operation" to also include trace-decreasing maps while reserving "quantum channel" for strictly trace-preserving maps.) Memoryless quantum channel We will assume for the moment that all state spaces of the systems considered, classical or quantum, are finite-dimensional. The memoryless in the section title carries the same meaning as in classical information theory: the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Probability Axioms
The Kolmogorov axioms are the foundations of probability theory introduced by Russian mathematician Andrey Kolmogorov in 1933. These axioms remain central and have direct contributions to mathematics, the physical sciences, and real-world probability cases. An alternative approach to formalising probability, favoured by some Bayesians, is given by Cox's theorem. Axioms The assumptions as to setting up the axioms can be summarised as follows: Let (\Omega, F, P) be a measure space with P(E) being the probability of some event E'','' and P(\Omega) = 1. Then (\Omega, F, P) is a probability space, with sample space \Omega, event space F and probability measure P. First axiom The probability of an event is a non-negative real number: :P(E)\in\mathbb, P(E)\geq 0 \qquad \forall E \in F where F is the event space. It follows that P(E) is always finite, in contrast with more general measure theory. Theories which assign negative probability relax the first axiom. Second axiom This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiunitary Operator
In mathematics, an antiunitary transformation, is a bijective antilinear map :U: H_1 \to H_2\, between two complex Hilbert spaces such that :\langle Ux, Uy \rangle = \overline for all x and y in H_1, where the horizontal bar represents the complex conjugate. If additionally one has H_1 = H_2 then U is called an antiunitary operator. Antiunitary operators are important in quantum theory because they are used to represent certain symmetries, such as time reversal. Their fundamental importance in quantum physics is further demonstrated by Wigner's theorem. Invariance transformations In quantum mechanics, the invariance transformations of complex Hilbert space H leave the absolute value of scalar product invariant: : , \langle Tx, Ty \rangle, = , \langle x, y \rangle, for all x and y in H. Due to Wigner's theorem these transformations can either be unitary or antiunitary. Geometric Interpretation Congruences of the plane form two distinct classes. The first conserves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gauge Symmetry
In physics, a gauge theory is a type of field theory in which the Lagrangian (and hence the dynamics of the system itself) does not change (is invariant) under local transformations according to certain smooth families of operations (Lie groups). The term ''gauge'' refers to any specific mathematical formalism to regulate redundant degrees of freedom in the Lagrangian of a physical system. The transformations between possible gauges, called ''gauge transformations'', form a Lie group—referred to as the ''symmetry group'' or the ''gauge group'' of the theory. Associated with any Lie group is the Lie algebra of group generators. For each group generator there necessarily arises a corresponding field (usually a vector field) called the ''gauge field''. Gauge fields are included in the Lagrangian to ensure its invariance under the local group transformations (called ''gauge invariance''). When such a theory is quantized, the quanta of the gauge fields are called ''gauge bosons' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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