Grand-Canonical Typicality

TL;DR

This paper explores how the grand-canonical density matrix naturally emerges in macroscopic quantum systems, extending typicality concepts to include particle exchange, chemical reactions, and conserved quantities, with implications for foundational quantum statistical mechanics.

Contribution

It generalizes canonical typicality to the grand-canonical ensemble, including chemical reactions and conserved quantities, and discusses the foundation of density matrices and wave function distributions in this context.

Findings

Grand-canonical density matrix arises from typical states in a generalized micro-canonical subspace.

Distribution of the system's wave function is described by a GAP or Scrooge measure.

Extends typicality results to systems with particle exchange and conserved quantities.

Abstract

We study how the grand-canonical density matrix arises in macroscopic quantum systems. ``Canonical typicality'' is the known statement that for a typical wave function $\Psi$ from a micro-canonical energy shell of a quantum system $S$ weakly coupled to a large but finite quantum system $B$, the reduced density matrix $\hat{\rho}^S_\Psi=\mathrm{tr}^B |\Psi\rangle\langle \Psi|$ is approximately equal to the canonical density matrix $\hat{\rho}_\mathrm{can}=Z^{-1}_\mathrm{can} \exp(-\beta \hat{H}^S)$. Here, we discuss the analogous statement and related questions for the \emph{grand-canonical} density matrix $\hat{\rho}_\mathrm{gc}=Z^{-1}_\mathrm{gc} \exp(-\beta(\hat{H}^S-\mu_1 \hat{N}_{1}^S-\ldots-\mu_r\hat{N}_{r}^S))$ with $\hat{N}_{i}^S$ the number operator for molecules of type $i$ in the system $S$. This includes (i) the case of chemical reactions (which requires some novel considerations) and (ii) that of systems $S$ defined by a spatial region which particles may enter or leave. It includes statements about how $\hat{\rho}_\mathrm{gc}$ arises from the density matrix of the appropriate (generalized micro-canonical) Hilbert subspace $\mathscr{H}_\mathrm{gmc} \subset \mathscr{H}^S \otimes \mathscr{H}^B$ (defined by a micro-canonical interval of total energy and suitable particle number sectors) or from typical $\Psi$ in $\mathscr{H}_\mathrm{gmc}$, as well as statements about the distribution of the (conditional) wave function $\psi^S$ of $S$, which turns out to be a so-called GAP or Scrooge measure. That is, we discuss the foundation and justification of both the density matrix and the distribution of the wave function in the grand-canonical case. To this end (particularly for the chemical reactions), we also need to extend these considerations to the so-called generalized Gibbs ensembles, which apply to systems for which some macroscopic observables are conserved.