Numerous fundamental properties of quantum information measurement are developed, including the von Neumann entropy of a statistical operator and its limiting normalized version, the entropy rate. Use of quantum-entropy quantities is made in perturbation theory, central limit theorems, thermodynamics of spin systems, entropic uncertainty relations, and optical communication. This new softcover corrected reprint contains summaries of recent developments added to the ends of the chapters.

This monograph, by now a standard reference in the field, provides a complete overview of quantum entropy theory, from the early days of quantum mechanics up to the most recent developments. It employs mathematical formalism based on operator theory and functional analysis with a goal of creating a comprehensive account of the different entropy concepts, their interrelations and use. Among the ideas discussed are entropy of a quantum state, relative entropy, mutual entropy, entropy of a coarse graining and dynamical entropy. Numerous fundamental properties of quantum information measurement are developed, including the von Neumann entropy of a statistical operator and its limiting normalized version, the entropy rate. Use of quantum-entropy quantities is made in perturbation theory, central limit theorems, thermodynamics of spin systems, entropic uncertainty relations, and optical communication. This new softcover corrected reprint contains summaries of recent developments added to the ends of the chapters.

Over 130 years ago, James Clerk Maxwell introduced his hypothetical "demon" as a challenge to the scope of the second law of thermodynamics. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer science, and links have been established between Maxwell's demon and each of

Over the years enormous effort was invested in proving ergodicity, but for a number of reasons, con?dence in the fruitfulness of this approach has waned. — Y. Ben-Menahem and I. Pitowsky [1] Abstract The basic motivation behind the present text is threefold: To give a new explanation for the emergence of thermodynamics, to investigate the interplay between quantum mechanics and thermodynamics, and to explore possible ext- sions of the common validity range of thermodynamics. Originally, thermodynamics has been a purely phenomenological science. Early s- entists (Galileo, Santorio, Celsius, Fahrenheit) tried to give de?nitions for quantities which were intuitively obvious to the observer, like pressure or temperature, and studied their interconnections. The idea that these phenomena might be linked to other ?elds of physics, like classical mechanics, e.g., was not common in those days. Such a connection was basically introduced when Joule calculated the heat equ- alent in 1840 showing that heat was a form of energy, just like kinetic or potential energy in the theory of mechanics. At the end of the 19th century, when the atomic theory became popular, researchers began to think of a gas as a huge amount of bouncing balls inside a box.

A self-contained, graduate-level textbook that develops from scratch classical results as well as advances of the past decade.

The book explores several open questions in the philosophy and the foundations of statistical mechanics. Each chapter is written by a leading expert in philosophy of physics and/or mathematical physics. Here is a list of questions that are addressed in the book: