Canonical quantization for equilibrium thermodynamics

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Authors: Luís Ferreira dos Santos, Victor H. M. Ramos, Danilo Cius, Mario Cesar Baldiotti, Bárbara Amaral
Cited by: 1
References: 49

Abstract

We formulate a canonical quantization of equilibrium thermodynamics by applying Dirac's theory of constrained systems. Thermodynamic variables are treated as conjugate pairs of coordinates and momenta, allowing extensive and intensive quantities to be promoted to operators in a Hilbert space. The formalism is applied to the ideal gas, the van der Waals gas, and the photon gas, illustrating both first- and second-class quantization procedures. For the ideal gas, a Schrödinger-like equation emerges in which entropy plays the role of time, and the wave function acquires a phase determined by the internal energy. A pseudo-Hermitian framework restores Hermiticity of the temperature operator and establishes the equivalence among constraint realizations. The approach naturally leads to thermodynamic uncertainty relations and suggests extensions to quantum and topological phase transitions, as well as black-hole and nonequilibrium thermodynamics.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics Quantum many-body systems Statistical Mechanics and Entropy

Publication details

Journal / source
Physical review. E
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Volume
113
Issue
5
Pages
054131–054131
Publication date
30 April 2026
Language
EN