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The Aharonov Approach to Equilibrium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Foad Dizadji-Bahmani
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Abstract

Using the ‘Aharonov approach’, Linden and colleagues purportedly prove that reaching equilibrium is a universal property of quantum systems. Such a proof would constitute a very significant result in the foundations of statistical mechanics. I argue that, as it stands, this proof is not sound. However, based on the their theorems, I construct an argument for the conclusion that an arbitrary small subsystem of a large quantum system typically tends toward and remains in, or close to, equilibrium. This is the central result of the article. In the final part of the article, I defend the Aharonov approach against anti-interventionist criticisms.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 78 , Issue 5 , December 2011 , pp. 976 - 988
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

Thanks to J. McKenzie Alexander, Seamus Bradley, Erik Curiel, Roman Frigg, Wolfgang Pietsch, Miklós Rédei, and audiences at Philosophy of Probability in Physics Workshop, Carl von Linde-Akademie, Technical University Munich (2009); Philosophy of Natural Sciences Research Seminar, London School of Economics and Political Science (2009); British Society for Population Studies Annual Conference, Utah Education Association (2009); and Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Conference, Montreal (2010) for very valuable critical discussions and feedback.

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