2007/03/15 by Harry Schmidt, Guenter Mahler, Günter Mahler
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Bipartite graph #Classical mechanics #Combinatorics #Condensed matter physics #Coupling strength #Eigenvalues and eigenvectors #Hamiltonian (control theory) #Hamiltonian system #Mathematical optimization #Mathematics #Physics #Quantum many-body systems #Quantum mechanics #Spectral properties #Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies #Statistical physics #Thermal #Thermal equilibrium #Thermodynamic equilibrium #Thermodynamics #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreve.75.061111
RevTeX, 8 pages, 13 figures
arxiv created 2007/03/15 · openalex publication_date 2007/06/12 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We investigate a two-level system in resonant contact with a larger environment. The environment typically is in a canonical state with a given temperature initially. Depending on the precise spectral structure of the environment and the type of coupling between both systems, the smaller part may relax to a canonical state with the same temperature as the environment (i.e., thermal relaxation) or to some other quasiequilibrium state (nonthermal relaxation). The type of (quasi)equilibrium state can be related to the distribution of certain properties of the energy eigenvectors of the total system. We examine these distributions for several abstract and concrete (spin environment) Hamiltonian systems; the significant aspect of these distributions can be related to the relative strength of the local and interaction parts of the Hamiltonian.