Ergodicity, eigenstate thermalization, and the foundations of statistical mechanics in quantum and classical systems

Abstract

Boltzmann's ergodic hypothesis furnishes a possible explanation for the emergence of statistical mechanics in the framework of classical physics. In quantum mechanics, the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) is instead generally considered as a possible route to thermalization. This is because the notion of ergodicity itself is vague in the quantum world and it is often simply taken as a synonym for thermalization. Here we show, in an elementary way, that when quantum ergodicity is properly defined, it is, in fact, equivalent to ETH. In turn, ergodicity is equivalent to thermalization, thus implying the equivalence of thermalization and ETH. This result previously appeared in [De Palma et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 220401 (2015)], but becomes particularly clear in the present context. We also show that it is possible to define a classical analogue of ETH which is implicitly assumed to be satisfied when constructing classical statistical mechanics. Classical and quantum statistical mechanics are built according to the familiar standard prescription. This prescription, however, is ontologically justified only in the quantum world.