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In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. Sometimes called statistical physics or statistical thermodynamics, its applications include many problems in the fields of physics, biology, [1] chemistry, neuroscience, [2] computer science, [3] [4] information theory [5] and ...
In physics, specifically statistical mechanics, an ensemble (also statistical ensemble) is an idealization consisting of a large number of virtual copies (sometimes infinitely many) of a system, considered all at once, each of which represents a possible state that the real system might be in.
In classical mechanics, the position and momentum variables of a particle can vary continuously, so the set of microstates is actually uncountable. In classical statistical mechanics, it is rather inaccurate to express the partition function as a sum of discrete terms.
This definition remains meaningful even when the system is far away from equilibrium. Other definitions assume that the system is in thermal equilibrium, either as an isolated system, or as a system in exchange with its surroundings. The set of microstates (with probability distribution) on which the sum is done is called a statistical ensemble.
In classical statistical mechanics (continuous energies) the concept of phase space provides a classical analog to the partition function (sum over states) known as the phase integral. [2] Instead of summing the Boltzmann factor over discretely spaced energy states (defined by appropriate integer quantum numbers for each degree of freedom), one ...
Treatments on statistical mechanics [2] [3] define a macrostate as follows: a particular set of values of energy, the number of particles, and the volume of an isolated thermodynamic system is said to specify a particular macrostate of it. In this description, microstates appear as different possible ways the system can achieve a particular ...
Von Neumann introduced the density matrix in order to develop both quantum statistical mechanics and a theory of quantum measurements. The name density matrix itself relates to its classical correspondence to a phase-space probability measure (probability distribution of position and momentum) in classical statistical mechanics , which was ...
In statistical mechanics, the microcanonical ensemble is a statistical ensemble that represents the possible states of a mechanical system whose total energy is exactly specified. [1] The system is assumed to be isolated in the sense that it cannot exchange energy or particles with its environment, so that (by conservation of energy ) the ...