The information entropy of quantum-mechanical states

A. Stotland, A. A. Pomeransky, E. Bachmat, D. Cohen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

It is well known that a Shannon-based definition of information entropy leads in the classical case to the Boltzmann entropy. It is tempting to regard the von Neumann entropy as the corresponding quantum-mechanical definition. But the latter is problematic from the quantum information point of view. Consequently, we introduce a new definition of entropy that reflects the inherent uncertainty of quantum-mechanical states. We derive for it an explicit expression, and discuss some of its general properties. We distinguish between the minimum uncertainty entropy of pure states, and the excess statistical entropy of mixtures.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)700-706
Number of pages7
JournalEurophysics Letters
Volume67
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2004

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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