Generalized Wigner-von Neumann entropy and its typicality
30 Jan 2019
•
Hu Zhigang
•
Wang Zhenduo
•
Wu Biao
We propose a generalization of the quantum entropy introduced by Wigner and
von Neumann in 1929 [Zeitschrift f\"ur Physik 57, 30 (1929)]. Our
generalization is applicable to both quantum pure states and mixed states...When
the dimension $N$ of the Hilbert space is large, as a result of typicality,
this generalized Wigner-von Neumann (GWvN) entropy becomes independent of
choices of basis and is asymptotically equal to $\ln N$. The dynamic evolution
of our entropy is also typical, reminiscent of quantum H theorem proved by von
Neumann. For the microcanonical ensemble, the GWvN entropy is equivalent to the
Boltzmann entropy; for a subsystem in a mixed state, the GWvN entropy is
equivalent to the familiar von Neumann entropy, which is zero for pure states. The GWvN entropy can be used to derive the Gibbs ensemble.(read more)