Eigenstate thermalization: Deutsch's approach and beyond

TL;DR

This paper reviews and extends approaches to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, which explains how isolated quantum many-body systems reach thermal equilibrium through their energy eigenstates.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis and extensions of recent methods supporting ETH, enhancing understanding of quantum thermalization mechanisms.

Findings

ETH supports thermalization in quantum systems

Recent approaches corroborate ETH's validity

Implications for quantum system equilibration

Abstract

The eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) postulates that the energy eigenstates of an isolated many-body system are thermal, i.e., each of them already yields practically the same expectation values as the microcanonical ensemble at the same energy. Here, we review, compare, and extend some recent approaches to corroborate this hypothesis and discuss the implications for the system's equilibration and thermalization.