Thermal Ionization

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that an atom coupled to high-temperature black-body radiation will inevitably become ionized over time, with the system losing any stable thermal state in the long-term.

Contribution

The work provides a rigorous mathematical proof of ionization in an idealized atom-radiation model using advanced operator algebra and spectral theory techniques.

Findings

Atom becomes ionized at high temperature over time

No stable thermal state exists in the long-term

Expectation values of finite projections tend to zero as time approaches infinity

Abstract

In the context of an idealized model describing an atom coupled to black-body radiation at a sufficiently high positive temperature, we show that the atom will end up being ionized in the limit of large times. Mathematically, this is translated into the statement that the coupled system does not have any time-translation invariant state of positive (asymptotic) temperature, and that the expectation value of an arbitrary finite-dimensional projection in an arbitrary initial state of positive (asymptotic) temperature tends to zero, as time tends to infinity. These results are formulated within the general framework of $W^*$-dynamical systems, and the proofs are based on Mourre's theory of positive commutators and a new virial theorem. Results on the so-called standard form of a von Neumann algebra play an important role in our analysis.