This thesis introduces the concept of "thermal pure quantum (TPQ) states", which are pure quantum states in equilibrium. The author establishes a new formulation of statistical mechanics based on the TPQ states. This formulation allows us to obtain not only mechanical variables but also thermodynamic variables such as entropy and free energy from a single TPQ state. Furthermore, the formulation provides a new physical description in which all fluctuations including thermally driven ones are uniquely identified to be quantum fluctuations. The use of TPQ formulation has practical advantages in its application to numerical computations and allows for significant reduction in computation cost in numerics. For demonstration purposes, a numerical computation based on TPQ formulation is applied to a frustrated two-dimensional quantum spin model, and the result is also included in this book.

This book is a collection of contributions from a Summer Workshop on “Physics, Mathematics, and All That Quantum Jazz”. Subjects of the symposium include quantum information theory, quantum annealing, Bose gases, and thermodynamics from a viewpoint of quantum physics. Contributions to this book are prepared in a self-contained manner so that readers with a modest background may understand the subjects.

This text presents statistical mechanics and thermodynamics as a theoretically integrated field of study. It stresses deep coverage of fundamentals, providing a natural foundation for advanced topics. The large problem sets (with solutions for teachers) include many computational problems to advance student understanding.

Quantum physics has been highly successful for more than 90 years. Nevertheless, a rigorous construction of interacting quantum field theory is still missing. Moreover, it is still unclear how to combine quantum physics and general relativity in a unified physical theory. Attacking these challenging problems of contemporary physics requires highly advanced mathematical methods as well as radically new physical concepts. This book presents different physical ideas and mathematical approaches in this direction. It contains a carefully selected cross-section of lectures which took place in autumn 2014 at the sixth conference ``Quantum Mathematical Physics - A Bridge between Mathematics and Physics'' in Regensburg, Germany. In the tradition of the other proceedings covering this series of conferences, a special feature of this book is the exposition of a wide variety of approaches, with the intention to facilitate a comparison. The book is mainly addressed to mathematicians and physicists who are interested in fundamental questions of mathematical physics. It allows the reader to obtain a broad and up-to-date overview of a fascinating active research area.

This introductory textbook for standard undergraduate courses in thermodynamics has been completely rewritten to explore a greater number of topics, more clearly and concisely. Starting with an overview of important quantum behaviours, the book teaches students how to calculate probabilities in order to provide a firm foundation for later chapters. It introduces the ideas of classical thermodynamics and explores them both in general and as they are applied to specific processes and interactions. The remainder of the book deals with statistical mechanics. Each topic ends with a boxed summary of ideas and results, and every chapter contains numerous homework problems, covering a broad range of difficulties. Answers are given to odd-numbered problems, and solutions to even-numbered problems are available to instructors at www.cambridge.org/9781107694927.

Quantum information theory is a branch of science at the frontier of physics, mathematics, and information science, and offers a variety of solutions that are impossible using classical theory. This book provides a detailed introduction to the key concepts used in processing quantum information and reveals that quantum mechanics is a generalisation of classical probability theory. The second edition contains new sections and entirely new chapters: the hot topic of multipartite entanglement; in-depth discussion of the discrete structures in finite dimensional Hilbert space, including unitary operator bases, mutually unbiased bases, symmetric informationally complete generalized measurements, discrete Wigner function, and unitary designs; the Gleason and Kochen–Specker theorems; the proof of the Lieb conjecture; the measure concentration phenomenon; and the Hastings' non-additivity theorem. This richly-illustrated book will be useful to a broad audience of graduates and researchers interested in quantum information theory. Exercises follow each chapter, with hints and answers supplied.

A Broad Perspective on the Theory of General Relativity and Its Observable Implications General Relativity: Basics and Beyond familiarizes students and beginning researchers with the basic features of the theory of general relativity as well as some of its more advanced aspects. Employing the pedagogical style of a textbook, it includes essential ideas and just enough background material needed for readers to appreciate the issues and current research. Basics The first five chapters form the core of an introductory course on general relativity. The author traces Einstein’s arguments and presents examples of space-times corresponding to different types of gravitational fields. He discusses the adaptation of dynamics in a Riemannian geometry framework, the Einstein equation and its elementary properties, and different phenomena predicted or influenced by general relativity. Beyond Moving on to more sophisticated features of general relativity, the book presents the physical requirements of a well-defined deterministic framework for non-gravitational dynamics and describes the characterization of asymptotic space-times. After covering black holes, gravitational waves, and cosmological space-times, the book examines the evolutionary interpretation for the class of globally hyperbolic space-times, explores numerical relativity, and discusses approaches that address the challenges of general relativity.

Statistical physics examines the collective properties of large ensembles of particles, and is a powerful theoretical tool with important applications across many different scientific disciplines. This book provides a detailed introduction to classical and quantum statistical physics, including links to topics at the frontiers of current research. The first part of the book introduces classical ensembles, provides an extensive review of quantum mechanics, and explains how their combination leads directly to the theory of Bose and Fermi gases. This allows a detailed analysis of the quantum properties of matter, and introduces the exotic features of vacuum fluctuations. The second part discusses more advanced topics such as the two-dimensional Ising model and quantum spin chains. This modern text is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in the role of statistical physics in current research. 140 homework problems reinforce key concepts and further develop readers' understanding of the subject.

Written for a two-semester graduate course in Quantum Mechanics, this comprehensive text helps develop the tools and formalism of Quantum Mechanics and its applications to physical systems. It suits students who have taken some introductory Quantum Mechanics and Modern Physics courses at undergraduate level, but it is self-contained and does not assume any specific background knowledge beyond appropriate fluency in mathematics. The text takes a modern logical approach rather than a historical one and it covers standard material, such as the hydrogen atom and the harmonic oscillator, the WKB approximations and Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization. Important modern topics and examples are also described, including Berry phase, quantum information, complexity and chaos, decoherence and thermalization, nonstandard statistics, as well as more advanced material such as path integrals, scattering theory, multiparticles and Fock space. Readers will gain a broad overview of Quantum Mechanics, as solid preparation for further study or research.

Statistical mechanics is the application of probability theory, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. It provides a framework for relating the microscopic properties of individual atoms and molecules to the macroscopic or bulk properties of materials that can be observed in everyday life, therefore explaining thermodynamics as a natural result of statistics and mechanics (classical and quantum) at the microscopic level. In particular, it can be used to calculate the thermodynamic properties of bulk materials from the spectroscopic data of individual molecules. This ability to make macroscopic predictions based on microscopic properties is the main asset of statistical mechanics over thermodynamics. Both theories are governed by the second law of thermodynamics through the medium of entropy.