The geometry of state space

M. Adelman*, J. V. Corbett, C. A. Hurst

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    25 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The geometry of the state space of a finite-dimensional quantum mechanical system, with particular reference to four dimensions, is studied. Many novel features, not evident in the two-dimensional space of a single spin, are found. Although the state space is a convex set, it is not a ball, and its boundary contains mixed states in addition to the pure states, which form a low-dimensional submanifold. The appropriate language to describe the role of the observer is that of flag manifolds.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)211-223
    Number of pages13
    JournalFoundations of Physics
    Volume23
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 1993

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