Emergent quantum mechanics as a thermal ensemble

TL;DR

This paper proposes a thermodynamical framework for quantum mechanics incorporating irreversibility and gravity-induced dissipation, replacing the Hamiltonian with an entropy operator to model thermal fluctuations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using Onsager's theory and Prigogine's transformations, replacing the Hamiltonian with an entropy operator to include irreversibility in quantum mechanics.

Findings

Entropy operator replaces Hamiltonian as evolution generator

Framework models gravitationally-induced irreversibility

Achieves nonunitary evolution consistent with thermodynamics

Abstract

It has been argued that gravity acts dissipatively on quantum-mechanical systems, inducing thermal fluctuations that become indistinguishable from quantum fluctuations. This has led some authors to demand that some form of time irreversibility be incorporated into the formalism of quantum mechanics. As a tool towards this goal we propose a thermodynamical approach to quantum mechanics, based on Onsager's classical theory of irreversible processes and on Prigogine's nonunitary transformation theory. An entropy operator replaces the Hamiltonian as the generator of evolution. The canonically conjugate variable corresponding to the entropy is a dimensionless evolution parameter. Contrary to the Hamiltonian, the entropy operator is not a conserved Noether charge. Our construction succeeds in implementing gravitationally-induced irreversibility in the quantum theory.