Statistical Operator: Explaining Temperature in Physics

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter LagrangeEuler
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Operator Statistical
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
1 reply · 2K views
LagrangeEuler
Messages
711
Reaction score
22
I have a question about statistical operator. In statistical physics you deal with temperature. So for example ##\hat{\rho}=\frac{1}{Z}e^{-\beta \hat{H}}## where ##\beta=\frac{1}{k_BT}##. In definition there is temperature. And also equivalent definition is
##\hat{\rho}=\sum_i w_i|\psi_i\rangle \langle \psi_i|## where in definition isn't temperature. I'm confused about this. Can you give me some explanation?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Both your definitions are the same, the second is just the general expansion of a one-body operator. [itex]w_i[/itex] is the probability of being in state i, given by [itex]\langle\psi_i| \tfrac{1}{Z} e^{-\beta \hat{H}} |\psi_i\rangle[/itex]. It's the same as the first definition.