The irreversible quantum

TL;DR

This paper proposes a dual thermodynamical framework to understand quantum mechanics as an emergent, irreversible phenomenon, linking classical thermodynamics with quantum theory through a semiclassical approximation.

Contribution

It introduces a thermodynamical dual to quantum mechanics, exploring how irreversibility in thermodynamics corresponds to quantum evolution.

Findings

Thermodynamical dual theory aligns with quantum mechanics in the semiclassical regime.

Irreversibility in thermodynamics maps onto quantum time evolution.

Provides a new perspective on the emergence of quantum phenomena from thermodynamics.

Abstract

We elaborate on the existing notion that quantum mechanics is an emergent phenomenon, by presenting a thermodynamical theory that is dual to quantum mechanics. This dual theory is that of classical irreversible thermodynamics. The linear regime of irreversibility considered here corresponds to the semiclassical approximation in quantum mechanics. An important issue we address is how the irreversibility of time evolution in thermodynamics is mapped onto the quantum-mechanical side of the correspondence.