Is -kTr(ρlnρ) the entropy in Quantum Mechanics?

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Abstract

In quantum mechanics, the expression for entropy is usually taken to be -kTr(ρlnρ), where ρ is the density matrix. The convention first appears in Von Neumann's Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. The argument given there to justify this convention is the only one hitherto offered. All the arguments in the field refer to it at one point or another. Here this argument is shown to be invalid. Moreover, it is shown that, if entropy is -kTr(ρlnρ), then perpetual motion machines are possible. This and other considerations support the conclusion that this expression is not the quantum-mechanical correlate of thermodynamic entropy. Its usefulness in quantum-statistical mechanics can be explained by its being a convenient quantification of information, but information and entropy are not synonymous. As the present paper shows, one can change while the other is conserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-48
Number of pages16
JournalBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science
Volume50
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1999

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